Travel Day

Neither of us slept well which was not unusual. We are always restless before a flight or any event where we have to be up at a certain time and require a wake up call. We finally gave up and got up at 4:45. We were at the desk waiting for the shuttle by 5:15. It was still dark outside.

The shuttle arrived within minutes and we were only 5 minutes away from the airport. Our timing was perfect. We received help with the boarding pass and checking in the luggage. We were ahead of the crowd so it went very smoothly. Our suitcases weighed 17.4 and 17.6 and they were allowed to weigh 23K so we were in great shape.

We also sailed through security because we were early. Within 15 minutes it was a mad house but we were relaxing and having our breakfast at Tim's.

We saw the most amazing brilliant red sunrise. I had never ever seen one so bright. We tried to take pictures but there must be something in the airport window glass because in the picture it looks rather ordinary

We sat and waited for our plane to arrive. We were leaving from gate 18

The flight loaded and we ended up seated behind a family of 3 children and their mother. All of the children had their seats reclined back as far as they would go so our time was not all that pleasant. I am convinced the air lines are making the seats smaller and they are cramming more people in the available space. Traveling by train was much better. Slower but much more comfortable.

In Calgary we got lunch and I did some work on the computer. For the second flight Ken had a window seat which pleased him. He tried to get pictures of the mountains and the smoke from the fires but he met with little success.

As we approached Abbotsford I began to think about what had to be done. After travelling for over 12 hours we were both exhausted but we would have to go out and get milk. We decided we would have a nap first because we were just too tired to do it tonight.

The flight arrived on time and we had to wait for another plane to clear the way.... Heavy air traffic in Abby.... 2 planes at the same time.

We got our luggage with no problem. Janet Trout was there to meet us as promised and soon we were on our way home. When we got to the house janet went into her truck and appeared at the door with a container of milk and home made biscuits and preserves. We could have kissed her.... What a wonderful thoughtful thing to do.!!!

Within a half hour we were all settled in for our nap.

Another wonderful adventure had come to an end. We are so blessed and so lucky.

Healthy and Happy when that is not the case with so many.

Next adventure is an RV trip next month.... stay tuned.

Last Full Day in Nova Scotia

We began the day by continuing our visit with Carl and Liz. Time flies when we are visiting so soon it is time to gather our things and head to the car.

We drove to Kempt Road and turned in the Sentra. There was no problem. Valerie had already arrived and we loaded our luggage into her new Audi. It is only days old and she is familiarizing herself with all of the gadgets. She said it is like driving a computer.

We decided to go back to her place. When there I got out the picture book of the house and showed it to her. She likes it. Her place has the most amazing View... Not a million dollar view a 3 million dollar view.

Again time just flew by and before we knew it time for lunch arrived. We walked to a near by place called the Wooden Monkey.Ken and I had a bowl of fish chowder. Valerie had a lamb burger. For dessert ken and I shared a blueberry crisp using fresh NS blueberries. Valerie had a lemon tart. Yummy!!

We walked back to Valerie's condo and visited a while longer.

Don't you just love that painting???

Valerie was kind enough to offer to drive us to the airport. It was really appreciated; partly because it saved us a bundle on Taxi fare but mainly because it gave us more time to visit.:-)

We are booked in at the Quality Inn with no difficulty. We made our way to our room and found it to be very nice and spacious.

Much to our surprise the room does not have a refrigerator. I have never had a room without a refrigerator. It did not have any literature about the hotel so we did not know about dining or the location of ice machines or anything else. Strange to be sure.
We found out it has a very nice pool that we would have taken advantage of if we had known it was here.

When it was time for dinner we went to the Bistro in the facility,It is named the Wooden Door Bistro.

We checked out the menu and decided to have the seafood chowder again. This time I ordered a cup because I wasn't really that hungry. Ken ordered a bowl.
When we saw gingerbread on the menu Ken remembered how his mother made gingerbread and he remembered having a piece of gingerbread and a glass of cold milk when he got home from school. This one did not have raisins but Ken decided to step back in time and we would share a piece of this gingerbread.
I also ordered a cup of peppermint tea.

This was amazing and unbelievable!!!! Check this out!!!!

Ken's bowl is as wide as he is and the spoon will stand up in the chowder it was so thick and rich. The gingerbread was warm and wonderful. We were so glad that we did not order 2 of those but decided to share one.

We waddled our way back to our room, called to get a 5:00 am wake up and called it a night. We fly in the morning.

We will be back in Abbotsford tomorrow afternoon.

Traveling Along

We woke early and went to the breakfast at the hotel. It was very good and there was a good selection.
Then we gathered our things and checked out.
We were not in a hurry so we decided to head for Porters Lake. A child hood friend of Ken's lives there and this seemed like a grand chance to pay him a visit. We called and we got the answering machine. Believing him to not be at home Ken decided to leave a note on his door. Just as Ken was about to write the note Barry came to the door. This was followed by almost an hour of chatting and remembering past times spent playing Cowboys and going to scouts together, swimming together and building rockets that almost wiped them out.

Our next stop was at Lawrencetown beach. This beach is a very well known for surfing. Today it was very very foggy and it was hard to see the surfers. I figure there was no way that the lifeguard could see someone who was in trouble.

At one point we saw a pair of seagulls trying to steal someone's picnic lunch. We did manage to shoo them away but we knew that was only a temporary solution.

When walking along the beach we encountered a very interesting back pack....Smiles for sure.

We toured a little around Dartmouth and had supper at the mall and then headed to Liz and Carl's. This is where we spent the night.
Tomorrow we meet Valerie, return the car and head to the Quality Inn.

Twenty years

It has been twenty years since the Nova Scotia Teachers College closed.
We were part of the class of 63. There is a lady here from the class of "44. and several from the class of 47. Amazing... Perhaps there is hope for us yet.
We worked on our suitcases and then we went downstairs to the Bistro and had breakfast .

It was wonderful but it was entirely too much food.
After breakfast we packed our suitcases and checked out.

We went to the Glengarry and of course it was too early to check in. Class members began to gather and we got our pictures taken and then went to lunch. There was a special lunch for the 16 of us who were getting together today. The members of our class were
 Diane, Jim, Mel, Bev, Bill, Lois, Harry and Gwen. We also included Inez and Linda and Doris and Judi.

It was a good thing that we had our own room because it was a tumult of visiting and laughing and applause. It was so good to chat and hug and visit with class mates and take time to look back at former times.

After lunch we got the key to our room and Diane and Linda and I went to the room. I wanted to show Diane the pictures of our new home.

The new room is very nice . We relaxed and I had a nap before it was time to go to the banquet.

This was a wonderful gathering. We received a certificate acknowledging the fact that we were two of the people who had traveled the farthest to attend the reunion.
 The next reunion for our class will be 2023.
Let us hope that we will be able to visit with and enjoy reminiscing with these friends again in '23.

Tomorrow we are back in Dartmouth and Halifax. Home on Tuesday.  Happy to go home and sad to leave friends behind

Truro Here We Come

We got up early and had a light breakfast with Phyllis and Gerard then we were on our way. So much of that road is very familiar . It brought back so many memories to travel that road again.

We had lunch on the way and then we looked and found me a hair dresser, Would you believe I got a shampoo and blow dry for 15 dollars? It is a good hair do as well. Then we made our way to the Holiday Inn. We checked in and found our way to our room. It is not a Fairmont but it is very nice and the staff was very friendly.

We left things in our room and then we went downstairs to the on location Bistro and we had a wonderful meal. Ken had a large bowl of seafood chowder and I had the lobster roll. WELL that was a lobster roll. It was huge, and there were 2 of them and a bunch of fries, 14.00 and it was enough for 2. I ate one roll and Ken ate the other

At 6:00 we went to the Registration for the reunion.

We had supper and then we met Jim Cleveland ( class of "63)and had a great visit.

 Next came the program with speeches and a bar and nibblies. We really enjoyed ourselves and too soon the evening came to an end. We drove back to our hotel. Tomorrow is the big day.

Truro

Truro, Nova Scotia

Truro
Town
Flag Seal
Nickname(s): Hub of Nova Scotia
Motto: Begun In Faith, Continued In Determination
Truro Location within Nova Scotia
Coordinates: 45°21′53″N 63°16′48″W / 45.36472°N 63.28000°W / 45.36472; -63.28000Coordinates:

Truro is a town in central Nova Scotia, Canada. Truro is the shire town of Colchester County and is located on the south side of the Salmon River floodplain, close to the river's mouth at the eastern end of Cobequid Bay.

History

The Mi'kmaq name for the Truro area, "Wagobagitik" meaning "end of the water's flow", was shortened by Acadian settlers to "Cobequid" who arrived in the area in the early 1700s and by 1727 had established a small village near the present downtown site of Truro known as "Vil Bois Brule" (Village in the burnt wood). Many Acadians in this region left in the Acadian Exodus which preceded the Expulsion of the Acadians in 1755, the town was resettled in 1761 by Presbyterians of predominantly Ulster Scottish origin who came from Ireland via New England. It is named after the city of Truro in Cornwall, United Kingdom.

Truro, Nova Scotia's John W. (Jack) Fraser "Chief of Police" 1888 - 1953 commemorated in a tree sculpture

Originally a small farming community, the construction of the Nova Scotia Railway between Halifax, and Pictou in 1858 caused the municipality to experience a fast rate of growth which increased even more when the railway connected to central Canada in 1872 and became the Intercolonial Railway. The Intercolonial, which later became the Canadian National Railway built a large roundhouse and rail yard in Truro. Further rail links to Cape Breton and to the Annapolis Valley through the Dominion Atlantic Railway in 1905 made the town even more a transportation hub for Nova Scotia. The railway also attracted industries such as the Truro Woolen Mills in 1870 (which later became Stanfield's) and provincial institutions like the provincial Normal School (later the Nova Scotia Teachers College) and the Nova Scotia Agricultural College. The town officially incorporated in 1875. Many figures from the town's past are featured in over 40 tree sculptures which were carved in tree trunks after Truro lost most of its Elm trees to Dutch Elm Disease in the 1990s. The history of the town and surrounding county is preserved at the Colchester Historical Museum (c.1900-1901), which is designated under the provincial Heritage Property Act.


Truro is known as the Hub of Nova Scotia as it is located at the junction between the Canadian National Railway, running between Halifax and Montreal, and the Cape Breton and Central Nova Scotia Railway, running between Truro and Sydney. Until the 1980s, Truro also hosted a junction between the Canadian National and Canadian Pacific Railway's former Dominion Atlantic Railway line running through Windsor and down the Annapolis Valley to Yarmouth, Nova Scotia.