Dream a little dream of Ma.

So well, here's something that doesn't happen every day!

I had a dream last night and it starred none other than Ma Horton!

It wasn't a long dream, but it was cute. Ma was visiting her youngling N@ and on her return drive to her home she gave me a lift to work and we have a lovely little chat...

Now, geographically this is not probable because I live further East than N@ does, so it's less than likely that Ma would pick me up on her way, having left N@'s. But then she DOES have a heart of gold...

I don't recall the specifics of what we talked about, but I do remember that it was all very nice,and I do recall some discission of Tim Hortons (but then that goes without saying). As when I woke up the first thing I thought was, "Awww, woulda been nice to keep talking to her..."

So there you have it...
...my first nocturnal blog experience....

Thanks!

Ijust wanted to take a moment and thank everyone for their support and donations. I was able to make my goal of $500.00 and in fact, just surpassed it. The total is $505.00

I was of course supported in my walk, not only monetarily, but with my walking partner Didier. As well, while not there physically, both my parents and indeed all of you walked along with us tonight.

I spoke to my parents immediately after the walk tonight and they indicated how proud they were of me, in fact, it is I who am proud of them. They have begun their walk on the path to battle my Father's Lymphoma. I know they join me in thanking you all. And they appreciate your kind words of support, prayers and positive energy.

Thanks again.

So who wants to walk next year?

Me? Shameless?

Well, tomorrow night I will be walking around Ile Ste-Hélène, shivering, in the cold, damp, rainy, autumn weather, doing my part for the Light the Night walk...

...and I'm only $55.00 from my goal of $500.00

If anyone gets the urge... there's still time.

:-)

Hey... it can't hurt to ask!

Book Meme

Saw this on the Urban Pedestrian's Blog, so thought I'd give it a whirl...

Total number of books owned:
Difficult to answer.
I've twice purged my book collection. In 1991 for my move from Halifax to Montréal: estimated 300
Then again in 1999 for an anticipated move from Montréal to Dallas (Don't ask): estimated 600*
Currently it is at: 291

(* before both of these book purges I had worked at bookstores which led to the quick increase)

Last book bought:
Sex and the Queen. ~ Elanor Herman

Currently Reading:
Sex and the Queen. ~ Elanor Herman

Last book read:
The Family of Max Desire. ~ Robert Ferro

Five Books that Mean a Lot to You:
In no particular order...

Orlando. ~Virginia Woolf
There just ain't nothing like sexual lines and boundaries being blurred.

The History of the World in 10 1/2 Chapters. ~ Julian Barnes.
I'm still not sure how I first found this book, but I recall just how equally amused and impressed I was when I read it.

Tales of the City. (series) ~ Armistead Maupin.
I devoured the original 6 volumes in a matter of weeks. Based around a group of characters in San Francisco in the 1970. And now... there is a 7th book, a mere 18 years after the 6th book. I cannot wait to read it!

The Griffin & Sabine Series ~ Nick Bantock.

A more original set of exquisitely designed, and illustrated fiction you'll never find! The 5 books follow the corespondance of the two main characters. You literally read their post cards and letters. (Going so far as having to open envalopes, remove the letters and hold them as you read.

Love you Forever. ~Robert N. Munsch
Because my Mom gave it to me.

Best Five Books You've Read in the Last Year:

The Camino. ~Shirley MacLaine
Always been a fan of her movies and even bigger fasn of her auto-biographical writing. This one about her experiences when she decided to do the Pilgrim's walk of the Camino de Santiago de Compostela.

Wittgenstein's Mistress. ~David Marksen
One of THE most difficult reads of my life. I challenge you to read this. It's a total Mindfuck!

Not Wanted on the Voyage. Timothy Findley
My favourite Canadian author... and this is my favourite. I hate to say it but I'd love to see this one made into a movie.

Sons of Darkness. (Tales of Men, Blood and Immortality.) and Brothers of the Night.

(re-reads) These are two anthologies of gay vamperic short fiction. I cant help myself, I do like me some erotic gay vampy trash now and again.

The Rituals of Dinner. ~ Margaret Visser
I really love reading non-fiction, on customs, traditions, rules of etiquette and the reasons behind them all. And this was a book I'd been long wanting to read. (I'm now looking for her other book, Much depends on Dinner)

twelve minus one equals eleven.

Well, we weren't really surprised here, were we?

Josie Maran and Alec Mazo are gone. A shame really, at least as far as Alec being gone... I could have coped with looking at him for a few more weeks. As for Stick Girl, well, god love ya, you can pull off green metallic eye-shadow; dancing on the other hand... that was just off.

But really there were quite a few that could have been #1 this season, #1 voted off that is. There's a lot of eligible men to be cast off ... all infact except for Helio.

Hopefully America gets it right this season and votes off all the dead wood at the beginning and allows those with more talent to make it worth watching each week, and keep my bitching down to a dull roar. :-) Yea... like that's gonna happen!

Now... can we talk about Dolly.

You know, god love her, I think she's fab, but HON-NEY we really need to talk about your choice in clothes... and wig, and lipstick! I know you once said "It's a good thing I was born a girl, otherwise I'd be a drag queen." sLook we know you're ARE a girl...as is made readily apparent by the Grand Tetons, so why do you need to tart up the face and the bod in makeup and clothing only a REAL Drag Queen can pull off?

Aww, who am I kidding I don't care, she was fab. Loved seeing her sing "9 to 5" and she's still writing a gazillion new songs and has a new album... Some might not consider her a true artist, and to those I'd say FU... she does have talent, as big as, well... you know where I'm going..

OK Let see what happens next week. I know I'll be tuning back in.

Babel

So we watched Babel tonight.

Didier has been wanting to watch it for some time now. So, since it was on TMN ce soir we watched.

I'll admit I was not that drawn in. I found myself walking back and forth from the living room, to the computer room... (never a good sign for me)

It was good, I guess. I'm sure I'm alone here, but I though it was a bit too, preachy for me. heh, guess I'm one of the jaded masses that this movie was about. There was this whole 'artsy' pretense that was a little too much for me. (and I can get into some rather artsy and alternative flicks!)

I honestly wonder, it not for Kate Blanchet and Le Brad, would this movie have done so well? To say a film needs the cache of a 'superstar' is a tired. I am a firm believer that if a movie is good, people will see it regardless, and word of mouth is the one of the most powerful sources. I actually avoid more movies because of particular actors, as opposed to seeing movies with those I prefer.
Seeing as they were the only two actors I recognized, It made me think I'd have preferred two other 'unknowns' in their roles.

What I did appreciate was the whole '6 degrees' aspect of it, the connectedness of everyone and I'll admit it makes me think of how my actions here, might actually affect those elsewhere in the world, but that's about it.

I dunno. I'm glad I saw it, but more glad that it didn't cost me $12 for a ticket and $12 for snacks.

Misster-Kitty give's Babel 6 hairballs outta 10.

The Doofus Factor

Can't say I was much impressed tonight with the men... save for Helio Castroneves. He and Julianne impressed the pants off me (well if I had been wearing pants anyway. HEY! it was too bloody hot n' humid for pants!)

The rest of the men seemed like a bunch of hipster doofi that, to quote Shania... "...don't impress me much."

So far it's Helio & Julianne and Sabrina & Mark that I think I'll be rooting for.

I reserve my final pick for next week.

Corner Gas dances it's way into my heart...

It's no secret that I'm a huge Corner Gas fan. Hell I like Gas humour... heck I even like fart humour. It's low-brow, but I lurvs it. And sometimes it's both together in a Gassy-Farty one liner.

Tonight was their 5th Season's Premiere! Ahhhhhhhhhh the fall season has officially begun in earnest, if you ask me.

The only thing that could have made me love Corner Gas more was their commercial tie-in with the season premiere of Dancing with the Stars that preceeded the Gas. I wish I had a link to a video of it, but alas I could find none. Hopefully though you know the one I refer to. Here at least is an image I found on the weeb.

Looking forward to another Gassy good season! Corner Gas, you bloat me with your canuk funnyocity.

the Hootch Factor.

Was it just me or was the Hootchie reading a little high on Dancing With the Stars? Really, was there not just a little too mutch hootch for the first night And really who wants to see Marie Osmond attempting anything remotely sexual. Sure we know she and her siblings all breed like rabbits (presumably with their own partners and not together... although the jury is still out on Donny and her... heh), but do any of us see any sexuality in an Osmond?

And please, gurls, you think that you can get me on your side, you can get my vote just because you're all in Leopard Print and or are a so called "Cheetah Girl"... well ok, you can. Honestly though, it was a tough call as to who got my 6 votes tonight. So in fairness, as I could not quite decide who should get them all, I divided them between:

- Jennie Garth (I think the judges should have given her at least 8's, but with any competition, Dancing with the Stars or otherwise, the first out of the gates are always marked lower that they should have received...)

- Sabrina Bryan (I have no freakin clue, WHO the hell you are, but you're very 'kitten with a whip' and I loved the subtle cheetah/leopard print Grrrr! Lose the hip-hop though, cause really, that's just so damn street.)

and

- Melanie Brown (Sure you've got the trashy tabloid Eddie Murphy Love Child, Sure you're a Spice Girl, but mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm Momma! that dress! ... can I have it now that you're through with it? and you can dance too...)

All three were in my opinion the top three, it's just too soon to say who will be my favs.... but with Maksim dancing with Mel, I think that is where my loyalties will lay... at least with the female contestant teams.

And that's not to say that Marie Osmond and Jane Seymore were not good, they were both far better than I thought they's be... but how long will they last? Only the male dancers tomorrow night will tell us that!

As for Josie Marar, honey, yes the judges were a skotch too hard on you tonight, but jeeze-louise there's not a dancing bone in the stick figure of a body of yours, is there?

All and all a good start I guess, but just a little too much hootch and not enough cootch... y'all can do better... well, except for stick gurl.

PS. All the guys this year look like grade "A" doofi (I fear tomorrow night will be a snooze fest)

Hey Ma Horton...

8 PM ce soir...

'Dancing with the Stars' season premiere.

You feeling me?

We on?

lemmie know...

Sunday in the park with...

SQUIRRELS!

Well I've not posted much lately, I guess we all go through dry spells. ...

Don't really have much to post even at this moment, but I said waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay back on Sunday April 29th when I reported our mis-adventure at Parc Lafontaine and our narrowly escaping with our lives whilst feeding the squirrels I said next time we went back I'd take some video...

...et voila...

(Sorry the quality is not 100% And I'll admit right away, Didier has a much more cinematic eye when recording video...)

"Stand for your dinner!"...

"We do not serve meals on the bench"...

Squirrel fun was had indeed.

We will be back, and sooner than last time... and in more light so the vid will come through more...

-----

On another note, We caught Bjork on Friday night, down in the Old Port. The Volta Tour. Didier was beside himself in gleeful wonder, as he's a freak-ass fan. I'm telling you... he Lurvs Bjork... we'll be just walking down the street, and he'll start singing "Oceania"... not the most melodic song out there people! It never ceases to impress me.

Bjork is like a Bag Pipe... amusical, discordant and yet remarkable beautiful and lyrical etherial all at the same time... It was a great night! we'll certainly go see her again, next time she's in town...

Well that's it for now..

How y'all doing?

the Gag Reel.

Because even though I've shared lots of pictures of our vacation with you already, we still have tons more! lol So I figure, there's always room for a few more that will hopefully put a smile on your face...

There are some more of our more 'Touristic Duty" pics... Some times you just gotta have a little fun...

On August 26th we went to the Mastodon Ridge MiniPutt Pack, in Stewiake, Nova Scotia. We just got all primitive...

And yes... there WAS a Mastodon...

We're still not sure if it was a He-Mastodon or a She-Mastodon...

Who Knew that Bedrock was in Nova Scotia?!



Guess who won?


We finally we made it to the Mini Putt. This was as close to a hole in one that either of us got...


And if you will recall, Stewiake is 'Halfway between the North Pole and the Equator' I swear it's a really big deal for them...


Ah yes... the obligatory fiberglass animal pics...

Didier cum Atlas...

On the 27th we made our way to Peggy's Cove.. They have a funny way of greeting people and saying 'Welcome"...

... Have fun now... y'hear!

Most people think the reason to go to Peggy's Cove is for the incredible views, the only Lighthouse Post Office in North America... but it's not. Ultimately, it's all about their Ginger-bread. No foolin'! this stuff kicks serious ass! If I only do one thing when I am home in Nova Scotia, it's to haul ass to Peggy's Cove and get a piece of Gingerbread at the Sou'Wester restaurant.

... just ask Didier... this was his 2nd visit to the Cove...

Okay, okay... it's not about the Gingerbread at all... it's the chance to bronco-bust a buoy...

On the 28th we were at the Citidel. This is a fort that was built back in 1700's and rebuilt in the 1800's. And it's CLEARLY obvious that they were of a far more delicate and refined 'European stature', back in the day, as can be confirmed by these two photos of us both standing in the same doorway... (and notice who is obviously reaching to gain an extra inch...)




We made it over to PEI on the 29th, and within a few hours Didier was asking "Who is this Anne of Green Gables" Her picture is every where and it's all over every sign and guide book and pamphlet...?"

Well on the 30th I took him up to Cavendish to Green Gables, and there he made a new friend...

...actually he made two friends... This is Bessie the Fiberglass Cow...

But it's not just Fiberglass animals that we will abuse... oh no... Give us a five foot tall stuffed moose and we're gonna be all over that too!...

Not only was my face as red as a lobster from all the sun, but I actually sprouted Lobster Antennae!

... It's over there... O're yonder...
(Even Leo Bear is like. "Yeah... Whatever Shawn...")

*sigh* I'm missing our Vacation....

SHEPOOPI.

- that is all.

Walking for my Dad.

As I mentioned back on September 6th, I will be walking in honour of my father this year at the annual Light the Night Walk (Marche Illumine La Nuit) This is a walk at night around Ile Ste-Hélène, open to individuals, families, groups and companies to help raise funds for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Canada . All money raised fund its lifesaving research, patient information and support programs. (All monies raised in Canada will remain in Canada for research and patient services.)

Today, my father received the first of 8 chemotherapy treatments and, knock wood, all went well. It was a long arduous day. My parents left the house at 6:30 am to get to the hospital for 7 am and only arrived back home at 4:30pm There was extra work to do today, they went over then endless list of possible side effects, discussed the clinical trial and so on. For as tired as he was when I was speaking to him tonight, Dad sounded in very excellent spirits.

If you'd be interested in sponsoring me, you can do so online HERE. My goal is to raise $500.00. Anything you can give is most incredibly welcome, but that said, all I can really ask is what we've received already from so many of you, and that is your positive support, energy, kind thoughts and words, they in themselves already help so much. :-)

My body is in Montréal, my Heart and Spirit are in Halifax.

My Dad is having his first treatment of Chemotherapy, even as I type these words...

Dad,

I thinking of you and sending all the positive energry I can.

Lova ya.

my Dad...

So well, for those of you that have been following my blog for the last few months, you know that my Father was recently diagnosed with Cancer. Lymphatic Cancer was all they could say back on August 8th.

Wel, he had more tests done, another CAT, a Bone Marrow test and lots of blood work.... Seems it's Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. He is Grade Two, Stage Three. Basically it's 'treatable, but not curable"

The Doctor's say it's not quite a death sentence, he could easily be around five to ten years... even longer. They want to add him to a clinical trial taking place in Canada at the moment. There are only 100 spaces available for the whole country, 10 at the hospital he is being taken care of in Halifax. We're still awaiting the final OK for him to start, but he has two appointments next week on the 11th and if the final tests are ok he'll have his first chemotherapy then.

They want to aggressively treat him as soon as possible to get him into remission (as this is the most they can do) and hope that he remains in remission for a few years. They will then re-treat him in the future (while keeping him under close observation) should any flair ups occur... and, sadly we know already that they will.

His Doctors have been wonderful and both my parents and we, cannot say enough good things about both the fine Doctors and Nurses at the Victoria General and Dartmouth General Hospitals. For as brutally honest as they are about the diagnosis and details, this is how my Father asked to know. He wants to know everything, the good, the bad and the ugly.

On Tuesday the 28th, the day of the final complete diagnosis, Dad was more calm and happy than he'd been in months. He knew what he was up against now. He knows the opponent he is fighting, and that clarity have given him a new found strength. That and his faith, and love from family and friends.

When he turned 65 back on April 21st of 2006 he made a milestone for the male side of his family being the longest lived male Ellis in 4 generations... And it's his full intent to blow that record out of the water, and we'll be there supporting him in any way we can.

I will be walking again this year for the "Light the Night' walk. It's a charity event to aid the Canadian Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. I walked last year with a group from my workplace, Bristol-Myers Squibb. They are a major contributor and sponsor of the event. Little did I know then that just one year later my interest and involvement in this would take on a whole other level.

I know it's an odd request, but if any of you would be interested in sponsoring me for the walk on the evening of September 28th, on Ile Ste-Hélène click here, or if you are interested yourself in participating, visit the official website here.

- - -

On the evening of Saturday September 1st, as I previously posted, When I went to take pictures of the sunset at the beach, I met my father as he was returning from his evening walk. We talked. We don't talk a lot on a deeply emotional personal level, but when we do, it's incredibly deep and heart felt. I love BOTH my parents very much. I'm more close to my mother, but in the past few years developed a much closer relationship too, with my Father. It's my most sincere hope and wish that we have many years ahead to grow closer together.

After our talk, I took a couple pics of him, I wanted to remember this moment for as long as I can. And after than he looked at me so... exposed, and so I said, "how 'bout we take a picture together?" He said he'd like that, so I set back up my tripod, set the timer and this was the result...

We hugged each other for a long time after that, and then as the light faded we returned to the cottage we built together, 25 years ago...

Sept 3rd

Our final day of vacation. Up and at em' we showered and said good-bye to the auberge...

...and made our way down to the St-Lawrence to take the Ferry. We took our Breakfast at a little resto overlooking the Ferry Terminal and then strolled around the beach and wharf...

... waiting for the Ferry to arrive...



Once we were on board and the ship set off to the north side of the river, and St-Simeon, we took picture after picture...




There was no access to the Bow, so I could only get a pic from inside... jusr as well because the waves crashing on board were coming out the the 3 level lounge!


Finally, 70 minutes later we arrived at St-Simeon...


...and then headed south towards Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré. I made my father a promise we'd do there, light a candle and say a prayer for him, and a promise made, is a promise kept...

We passed the Montmorency Falls...


Then crossed the St-Lawrence yet again in Québec City. ...and in a couple more hours... it was all over... as we crossed the St Lawrence one last time and exited the Jacque Cartier Bridge and made our way home-o.

Sept 2nd

Alas all good things must come to an end... and this was our last day on PEI. Morning really, as we intended to leave by 1 pm.

Didier and I took the opportunity of an morning low-tide to have one last walk down on the beach...

...where we were met by the only starfish to be found this season...

God I miss this place...


To give you an idea of the beauty of the beach... here is a 360 video I took... OK, it's ot the BEST quality again, but well I think you get the idea...

Back up to the cottage, and Mom and Dad returned from Charlottetown and Church. Didier and I served them Montréal's finest Smoked Meat (from Rubens) and then after some Apple Pie with Ice Cream (natch') it was time to say good buy...


I tell you I cried the 2 kilometers out to the highway. I hat leaving this place... I guess that's part of the reason I waited so long to go back... it's just so incredibly hard to leave...

---

On the road again... we traversed the Confederation Bridge once more, and cut across and up the Western edge of New Brunswick til we were back in La Belle Province again. We made our way to Rivière-du-Loup. We found a small hotel "Auberge Saint Patrice" and got a room, then headed 'downtown' for a bite to eat. We made it to "L'Estaminet"...


an incredibly terrific resto/tavern with, wait for it... 150 beer to choose from! I swear I died and went to heaven! IT's hard to pick a beer from a list 150 long so I copped out a bit and got my fav... Guinness extra Stout. After too much food (NO ice cream for Dessert... there simply was no room!) ...we headed back to the Inn and went to bed... zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Sept 1st

So here we are, on saturday morning and what to all the old poop's want to do?...

...do crossword puzzles, and cryptaquotes and the like!

With a little careful nagging I soon have them up and out of the cottage. It's time to go shopping. Misster-Kitty means business! (pardon the pun) First stop... back to Victoria-by-the-Sea and the Sea Nest...


...to buy some candles and a Memory box with sand and shells and sea-glass and and and... (It sits on our window ledge in the office now.)

Then straight away we are off to the Island Chocolate Company... to buy... you guessed it Chocolates...



Incredible handmade Belgian chocolates We got a box full of em and a bag of dark chocolate Espresso Beans.. BUZZ BUZZ!

Then we went on to "Memories for you" and I got one wonderful memory... I asked my parents to sit together so I could take a picture, and they both grumbled but they obliged... I like this pic a lot.


After a quick drop off of our newly acquired things at the cottage, along with some fresh veggies from the farmer's market, we were headed to Charlottetown, but not before I snapped the shot in the field behind our cottage...


We stopped off at Maggie's Restaurant in Cornwall, for... Lobster Rolls... what else? and then finally made our wat inot the City and headed straight for Peake's Wharf and.... drum roll please...


COW'S ICE CREAM! (YEA again! What's your point?)

But before we got our treat, we did our touristic duty again...

Mom and Dad...


Me and Didier...



Thereafter we went to see the Sandland Exhibit...

You've never seen such sand sculptures!

Then we went by Province (Confederation) House...


... and then returned to the cottage.

While Mom and Didier prepared dinner I snuck off to the beach to take some pictures of a GORGEOUS SUNSET....




... and was met by my dad. We talked a bit, looked out over our beach and strolled back to the cottage.

Dinner was delicious Parmesan Chicken by my Mother, Barbecued Vegetables by Didier and Dessert was a sort of Apple Crumble by me... with Ice Cream... Naturally!

We watched Little Miss Sunshine, one damn good movie!, and then hit the sack.

Just how many terrific days can you possibly fit into one vacation... I ask you?!

Aug 31st

Sometimes in life you feel like you just keep going in circles... That was our day on the 3st... and it all revolved around Highway # 13 (insert ominous music here).

We got up, as per usual, around 9:30, got a bite to eat and headed North along Highway #13. We passed PEI's one and only "Ski Resort" Brookvale Alpine Winter Activity Park...

(there's a 250 foot slope!)

Thereafter we headed directly on up to Burlington to visit a childhood memory favoutie...

Woodleigh Replicas...

Here is Yorkminster Abby...

As you can see we brought along our trust travel companion Leo the Bear. (He travels whenever we do... He's been to Toronto, Québec City 5 times, Halifax twice, France and now PEI...)While he's not in a lot of pictures of this trip, he was the START of the show at Woodleigh, as things were just his size...

The Pillory, in front of Dunvegan Castle.

Didier...

Misster-Kitty...

... and Leo...

Dunvegan Castle...

Didier at Dunvegan ...

Loook up, look waaaay up... Leo conquers Dunvegan Castle...

...Leo at the base of Neilson's Column...

... Leo staddles a connon at the Tower of London...

I told you... he stole the show!

Later we took a strole through the gardens. The pod paddle boat pond is now a water lily pond, absolutelt bussing with damsle and dragon flies!

After our tour of the park we mooooooooooved on up to the Cavendish Boardwalk and went to...

Oh you people are really starting to catch on! You can damned well bet we were not going to miss having an Ice Cream at the original COWS Ice Cream store!

We then walked around the board walk, buying more souvenirs, and t-shirts, including 6 Cow's T-Shirts and 2 PEI Dirt Shirts...

Then back down the Highway #13 to the cottage where we picked up Mom and Dad and headed ... yup, you guessed it, back UP the Highway #13 to North Rustico, where my parents wanted to take us for a fantastically incredible Lobster Feast at the Fisherman's Wharf.

We first were served Seafood Chowder, then had plates full of steamed mussels and then a 60 foot salad bar and then the main feast of Lobster... I don't think we've ever eaten so much... we were so full that we were all groaning and huffing as we made our way back to the car... to take the Highway #13 back to the cottage... When we got home we were all so incredibly full that we could do nothing but just collapse on the chairs and sofa... and soon all waddled off, stomachs still full, to slumberland...

Aug 30th

This was Island Tour Day.

We are going to take the day and follow the Blue Heron Coastal Drive, that circles the coastal region on the Central part of PEI... A total of 198 Kms. You'd think that we'd only have been gone an hour or so... but no. We are now professional tourists. We are going to park the car and get out and look around at the slightest provocation! The grand tour would take us seven and one half hours! and we have pics to prove it...

Not even more than a couple of kilometers in and I insist Didier take a pic of the country side. Just east of DeSable, the first picture of the day. A more tranquil place on earth does not exist...

In another 20 minutes, we're at Fort Amherst / Port La Joye National Historic Site, and what would become a theme of the day ...the steadfast Lighthouse.

This is the first of three at the site and is the 'Blockhouse Point' lighthouse.



The cliff faces of the area never fail to impress...

...and impress...


...and impress...


Further on down the path we find another of the local Lighthouses.

And after being eaten alive by unseen evil mosquitos we return to the car, pass through Charlottetown for a bite to eat, and then on up to the Gulf of St Lawrence coast and make our next stop in North Rustico and find... a lighthouse!


You can't really tell form the photo but we were only about 5 minutes away from a total dowsing of a freak fast paced thunder-storm! And within 20 minutes it was over... in just the time it took to drive through Cavendish and stop off at Anne Of Green Gables...


Sure it's over the top commercialism... but look at this pic. of yours truly sipping on his Anne of Green Gables, Raspberry Cordial drink...


I think I could have a career in TV commercials! heh

On the return trip to the cottage we stopped off on a short dirt road that led to a little beach in Carleton Cove with a great view of the Bridge, so naturally, even though we already had more than a dozen pictures of it, we took some more...



And then just 5 kilometers from home we stopped off at what I think is THE archetypical PEI village. Victoria-by-the-sea, and lo... they have a Lighthouse!


There is also one Wharf that we visit to get great seafood, and even better pics. This is yours truly setting up for a shot...


...and here is the shot...


And this, my bloggy friends is what it's all really about... live, just caught, fresh off the boat lobster...

Awww-yea!

Seven and a half hours later, we return to the cottage, greeted by my parents.

After a short time it's 'that time' and back to the Wharf in Victoria to have a seafood dinner, and you guessed it... Lobster at Ruthie's Lobster House and Restaurant. It's situated right on the end of the wharf, with a great view of the Northumberland Strait, the beach and our cottage!

And when we returned home, this is who greeted us...



Not bad eh?

Aug 29th

Did we sleep in today? ... actually no. :-(

Today I was up BEFORE 9 am! (sick huh?)

I was off to visit my maternal Grandmother...

Ain't she a cutie?! 93 and still full of piss n' vinegar! I love my visits with her, as infrequent as they are, I cherish every moment. And why not, she tells me as well as everybody else that I'm her favourite! (and can you blame her? heh) In fact she said the only thing she misses as much as me, is her car. (and trust me she misses that car... the remaining population on Halifax does not share her sentiment regarding the car, as for me they are mixed. heh)

We always chat about family, past ands present. I always listen intently to her tales of times gone by... I can't get enough of therm. And she is always trying to get me to eat... none stop! On this visit I relented and had a piece of Lemon Meringue pie... at all of 10:30 am! lol But you know what, It was, (as ever) the best piece of pie you can imagine!

Unfortunately this was a short visit, 2 1/2 hours and then I had to be off, back to the parents...

...pack the car and head to PEI... This was only a drive of 300 kms, but crossed 3 provinces and one kick ass long bridge!



The Confederation Bridge is just under 13 kms across and this was my first time driving across it (as it was Didier's as well, in fact the first time he was ever on PEI, but not the last!)

Then just 20 mins after the crossing we were in Hampton, at Shangra-la. Or 'Suits Us" as Mom and Dad call it. It USED to be called "No-lak-a-nookie Lodge" but seems Mom has mellowed in her 60's and thought the name too provocative... whatever...

I hurried Didier to help me unload the car and then we rushed down to the beach... MY BEACH...

I grew up, summers on PEI on this beach since 1976. It was low tide and it was half past 6, time was a wastin'! I had not been to the cottage since August 11th 1991... I was long overdue.

Didier was as instantly in love with the beach and it's inhabitants as I was as a child... and he took pics to show it too!...

Hermet Crabs...

Snails...



Razor Clams...

Quahog clams... and me (of course!)

and much more, Blue Herons, Seagulls, Arctic Terns, Piping Plovers, Sandpipers, Cliff Swallows...

And more than anything else... sunset...

Time ceases to exist at sunset there. You are outside of time, it avoids the Sunset so that you can be enveloped by it...

And if that was not enough enchantment, as we were returning to the cottage as twilight set in we passed the abandoned sand castle of one of our neighbour's grandchildren...


...How is that for magic?

Once we got back to the cottage we realized, hey! we're hungry, so we took the car into Charlottetown (35 kms away) and went down to Peake's Wharf and had dinner at the Peake's Quay Restaurant. YUM! Seafood Pasta Marinara.

On the return trip to the cottage we looked at the Moon rising in the sky, so full (like our bellies) as it shone it's silver glow over the countryside.

Yet another perfect day.

Aug 28th

Another day to sleep in. I know, I know! Ain't vacation GREAT! heh

After breakfast we went back to Halifax and headed down to the harbour and went to the Historic Properties. A park, museum, restaurants, shopping, bars, tours both land and sea and great views all rolled into one! So yea, we took some pics...

...an old wharf...

...some traditional Scottish flinging...

...awww loo' A seagull...

The day was quickly passing and we were hungry, so we got a bite to eat... you guessed it, Fish n' Chips. This time in a more reasonable size, one that you could eat without feeling like Jabba...

Then off to the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic.

Seems where ever you go now in the Maritimes they're capitalizing on the whole 'Pirate's theme... Now in the museum it's acceptable since there was pirate activity in and around the Maritimes... ' in the day' at least...


The lens of an old lighthouse...

Naval Mines and Nazis and Didier... oh my!...

...yea, more pirate stuff...

Two other great displays they have here are of the Halifax Explosion, and of the Titanic Disasters. Here you will see me and the Mister on the lounge deck of the Titanic on a reproduction chaise lounge...

After the Museum, we took a little stroll, took some pics, you see a lot of boats... naturally. Sadly the Bluenose II was not in port....

THEODORE TUGBOAT!!!

Then, like the good tourists we were being, we took a tour called the Harbour Hopper. It's on one of those amphibious vehicles, (these from the US Military, Vietnam war. Refitted naturally)

Not the most informative tour, and it seemed I knew everything that was quizzed along the way. At one point the tour guide just started asking me directly heh ;-)

It was impossible to take a good picture on the land part because we were moving too quickly. The water part was more enjoyable. Seeing the harbour front FROM the harbour. That was very enjoyable indeed.

George's Island...

Next time we'll just take a straight boat tour, possibly to Peggy's Cove and back.... it would be interesting to see from the water for sure...

Then we stopped for an, wait for it.... Ice Cream! Didier's first COWS Ice Cream. It's damn good ice cream, even better than Ben and Jerry's if you ask us!

But all delicious things must come to an end, and so back to our visit... we walked around downtown a bit.

Saw the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia (AGNS... pronounced Agnes)...

...then Province House...

...then Parade Square and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Paul) at one end...


... and City Hall at the other...

...And then on up the hill we climbed, to the base of the Citadel and took some pictures of the Town Clock...

Then on up the hill and did our Touristic duty...

...and then entered the hilltop fort...

I can remember many trips to the Hill as a kid. At one point Didier commented that "it's a shame that more was not marked out in the fort for people to see, as I took him in and out of open doors with next to no signage"... I commented that they were all on the provided map, but since I knew the fort so well we just seemed to weave in and out without direction... Basically if you see an open door or gate, go through it. I like this sort of under labelled discovery. Besides it's nice to take pictures without so many redundantly marked signs. We walked around for almost two hours soaking in the mid day sun, the history, and men in kilts! heh!

A view of the City, the Harbour and George's Island...



And then off home we went, with an appetite in tow.... Met the folks at home, Dad just back from another appointment at the Dr's (more on that in a separate post). Hunger taking hold of us, but all too tired to cook, we got Chinese take out... and not one piece of fish in the lot! lol

Hard to belive but our trip is already half over, and we've just begun to really feel relaxed... :-)

Aug 27th

Monday started like ALL Mondays should start... we slept in.

Got up around 9:30 and had another leisurely breakfast. Then we headed down to Alderney Landing on the Dartmouth waterfront to get some nice views of Halifax...

After that we headed across the MacDonald Bridge...

...and drove through downtown Halifax, destination...

...the Public Gardens. Beautiful gardens, in the center of the city over 150 years old.

These gardens suffered terribly due to Hurricane Juan, losing countless century old majestic trees. Thankfully to a very concentrated and energetic volunteer force the gardens have recovered, and a new gate and fountain were just inaugurated and dedicated to the volunteers...

From the Gardens, we took a longer then expected drive to Peggy's Cove (this was to prove to be one of many many many inconvenient drives due to highway construction. What should have taken only 45 minutes took over 90 minutes!!! A 5 minute stretch was 30 minutes alone!)

We stopped off at Shad Bay to take a few pics...

And finally we were at our MAIN destination...

Peggy's Cove.

We were here back in Dec of 2005 But as Didier said... "The ocean water was freezing!!!" so that was a brief visit! This time however we took our time. We walked around the rocks, took a few pics...

Then went into the Sou'Wester Restaurant for Chowder, Crab Cakes, and Gingerbread.

After filling our bellies we walked around the village took some more pics...

And then ended up back on the rocks to watch the tide come in...





After 3 and a 1/2 hours we decided to call it a day and headed back home.

Mom and Dad prepared Fish Cakes and then after dinner Didier and I went down to Lawrencetown Beach to watch the waves and look at the full moon. There was a guy practicing his Fire Spinning... here's some video but I'm afraid the quality is a bit low... (HEY! it was dark ya know! Trust me we could see a lot better... The sound is nice tho... heh)

We then took a little walk on the beach, passed a few families and I wrote in the sand...

All in all, another wonderful day!

Aug 26th

So this was our first totally stress free day of vacation. No getting up early. No long distance drive ahead of us...

Sleeping in was the first order of the day... We got up around 10am.

Breakfast with the parental units and then it was off to the Schubenacadie Wildlife Park.

Not quite a zoo, not quite a park. All the animals are native to Nova Scotia. Everything from the small: turtles and Martens ands Fishers and Ducks, to the large: Deer, Bear and Moose. Personally I would have preferred to see many of the pens to have been enlarged since the last time I was there (June 1980) and maybe a few were, but then seems still too small. I guess though for the animals it's better than nothing. All animals are those that were injured, attended to and recovered but not able to be returned to the wild, or were the offspring of other zoo without the ability to keep a growing population. At any rate all seemed well looked after and certainly happy to be there.

It even seemed to me that some KNEW they were there to be seen and would actually 'take the stage' only when someone stood in front of their pens and gave them attention. The Timber Wolves, Bob Cats and even the Otters were especially 'on' when you went to see them, coming up to the front to grant photo ops! Really makes you wonder just how intelligent they are and what they understand.

Others, like the Porcupine and raccoons couldn't have cared less! Granted it was like 32' when we were there, precious little breeze and no cloud to offer shade.

Anyhoo, here's some pics...

Dall's Sheep...

Moose...

A Peahen and her brood...

White Rabbit!...

One damn lazy ass Raccoon...



Two damn lazy ass Porcupines...

River Otters...

Black Bear...

After the Wildlife park, we were a little peckish and went to, now don't hate us, KFC/Taco Bell. It may not have been seafood, or gourmet, but it was good!

We then went to the Mastodon Ridge MiniPutt. Some local attraction near where a complete Mastodon Fossil skeleton was found, and not so coincidentally in Stewiake... Stewiake being exactly 1/2 way between the North Pole and the Equator. Aside from a Mastodon replica and some 'Flinstonesque' sculptures, and some other interesting sites, there was the aforementioned miniputt.


Didier thought he'd impress me with his MiniPutt prowess... All I can say is... Final Score: Didier74, Shawn 42. Granted it was Par 36, but nonetheless I was the winner...

Mom and Dad took us out to dinner on the Wharf at Eastern Passage. We ate at Wraps. Had some good Calimari and the biggest pieces of haddock ! Fish 'n chips like you've never seen before! Huge mothers! I took the two piece fish and was barely able eat one and 1/2 the fries on my plate! A doggie bag was created and I second meal was taken home for another day!

After dinner it was across the wharf to "What's the Scoop?" for our first official ice cream of the vacation. Here you will see Mom and Didier in the foreground trying to decide on what flavour(s) to get...



After a promenade along the boardwalk we sat for a few minutes watching the last fading glimmer of twilight...


...before making a hasty retreat from the mosquitos.

From there we went home, chatted a bit before we all succumbed to the fresh salt air and wen to go count sheep.

Aug 24th and 25th

Well the 24th and 25th was all about getting there.

On Friday the 24th, we shoved off right after work. The destination was just to get to Québec City. Exactly 2 hours and 30 minutes, 250 kilometers later we were there. We met our friends Jeff and Stef, and their pooch Bilbo. We had a great dinner at Le 48. Then after we took a stroll through the Petit Champlain area of the city and called it a night.

We woke up to thick fog over the city. Was this a omen of our days to come on the East Coast???

After some last minute shopping at a Farmer's Market we were soon on the road.

12 hours and 20 minutes, 1027 kilometers later we arrived at my parents home. It was a slow casual drive... (I think you tend to drive slower when there's two or more in the car, because you have company, you have someone to talk to (other than yourself) You stop more often and in a more relaxed fashion. My last drive home to my parents was done solo and completed in just 11 hours and 45 minutes. This trip with the two of us was 14 hours 20 mins...)

We sat in the Kitchen with my Mom and Dad. Had a bite to eat, got caught up on the latest news, gave them a few gifts from La Belle Province: home-made sugar free jams, Fairmount Bagels (2 1/2 dozen) a bottle of Ice Wine, a bottle of Rose and 1/2 a brisket from Rubens, (nothing says I love you like a heaping pile of food and alcohol!) and then hit the hay.

How I spent my Summer Vacation

Paying homage to all the thousands and thousands of kids that headed back to school, I will, over the next few posts recount Didier's and my Summer Vacation.

...so here goes....

PS...

So I read all of the posts for "Kitty Out", y'all really needed to get out just a little bit more while I was away! lol

To answer a few question...

-Had a great time on Vaycay.

-I don't mind at all that y'all kept my Blog warm while I was away.

-Jerome, heheh yup I read em all and no I'm not disturbed that you've been back reading my blog... hope you enjoyed...

-I actually didn't drink that much beer while I was away. Not even one Mojito! In fact I can recall all the booze I did drink! 2 portonics, 3 glasses of wine, 7 beer, 2 hot chocolate with baileys and 1 bloody caesar.

OK now onto the more important work... posting about vacation...

I'm Baaaaaaaaaaaack!

Greetings Blog-type peeps!

Misster-Kitty has returned...

He's not happy that he's returned.

He'd much rather still be on the Island, walking the beach, or sipping on a Frosty Schooner Beer, or eating Lobster for the umpteenth time...

But all good things must come to an end... and on that theme, here was how it looked at the end of our first day on the Island... (Aug 29th)

Now that is some Island Magic...
(As long as the sky is not completely full of clouds you have this sort of dreamy sunset every night at my family's summer home. If you can aim a camera you'll have a great sunset picture. Guaranteed. )

And speaking of 'things at an end' I've closed the last post 'Kitty Out' I've not even read it yet, but y'all are cra-zay-zee! (can't wait to read all TWO HUNDRED AND TWENTY TWO posts! Blog much people? heh)

Much to blog about, pics to post (we took some 1500+ pics!!!), but that will have to wait til tomorrow...

..oh yea, speaking of 'tomorrow, when we arrived home and we checked the answering machine, there was a message from my boss telling me I have tomorrow off... to that I say, 'Suck it, Maria!' ... heh (you know I loves ya!). This also reminds me I should go to the Proctologist and have the horse-shoe removed from my ass!