Calgary to Halifax in 7 days or YYC to YHZ if You're Super Trendy

Quick trip to NS - to relax and get some fresh salt air in my lungs again. Both flights were awesome - window seats and only one bathroom trip each way (poor aisle guys), a quick $12 Caesar at Ginty McCools or something like that at the Toronto airport while completely ignoring the proud Nova Scotian beside me at the bar telling the non-Maritimer who he was, where he was from, how expensive his beer was. "What was he drinking? Whiskey?" continuing to tell his new friend where he worked up north, why he was out there, etc. Ugh. Some people just make you ashamed to be from Nova Scotia.

I arrived to a hot summer day, left in a snow storm~ welcome to NS in March.

Kenny's sis and bro in law (Beth and Adam) are living there while their house is being built and we had a hoot. I wasn't in the mood to visit and be social, so I only called one friend and the rest of the time, I was a bum on the couch. I spent a lot of time laughing at Adam and sharing celebrity gossip with Beth. We all had a really great time - its so refreshing to be among people who you can really just simply be you around. Lucky for them! :-) Beth entertained us with things like "Kenny, didn't you learn that in Cop Camp?" And Adam with random outrageous comments.
Barry/Iris, Mark/Leah and families arrived and that set the weekend up quite nicely. There are so many pictures, that I've broken the posts up into events.
Hope you enjoy my trip as much as I did!

Calgary to Halifax - Part II - Chilln'

First night of family-ness starts with the Mark and Leah's arriving to Halifax to finish off a fun filled March Break week in New Brunswick.

Quinn already in motion to destroy Heidi's place. Decorative ball in hand, he eyes his next target. (Please note shelf in background is a barren wasteland once a thriving home to family pictures and and wedding pictures, tastefully placed trinkets and fragile such things) Also, please make 'directly related' connection ....

We be chilln'

Still on the go. I respect his focus and determination.

Wheee. Boston Pizza for all. Pizza toppings and wings for me.

Booster Juice for the wee one who'd been hit with a 'road trip diet' and mom was trying to infuse some goodness into his little system.

With full belly, the destroyer continues his mission to get himself into the most precarious positions, with the closest proximity to something really hard to make the contact with his noggin that much more constructive.

One of the cutest faces I've ever seen.

Ahhh .. Peace and quiet for the adults. That is, if you define Peace as listening to Binoo and PeePee or whatever its called.

Hardly know what to say about this face.

Love this kid.

Its an addiction - this taking pictures of Quinn thing. I need an intervention. Is there rehab for annoying aunts??

He banged his head a few times so he decided that climbing on moving objects or climbing into drawers just wasn't his thing anymore, so he re-joined the still-eating adults.

Aw. The J-Man hung around long enough for a picture. This may have been taken moments after he tried to tackle me. Thats a high probablilty.

Pondering the workings of the hide-a-bed. Smart kid. Didn't take him very long.

He's so tired at this point. And the Barry and Iris Macdonalds had joined in the fun, so the noise level increased in conjunction to Quinns need for sleep. Patient little guy.

If you're going to send me to rehab, make it somewhere hot, like Arizona or something.

Perfect little toes.

Perfect eyes.

I love this kid.

Calgary to Halifax - Part III - Water Slide Antics

Handley and Jonah made great use of the hotel pool. Please note: its not nearly 4 feet deep.

This is Handley, but I don't think he cares that the speed of ejection doesn't quite corelate with the depth to which the pool has sunk.

However, boy child is proud of his achievement and is looking back for his partner in crime.

Now they descend in rapid sucession, clearly unware that this would be a 'near miss' in the oil fields, thus they'd have to get drug tested and miss a day of work.

'That was AWESOME lets do it again!

Great idea! But this time ...

Lets go at the same time!

Whoa! that was even awesomer.

Let's do it again.

And let's continue the history of Macdonald cousins being best friends.

Its truly wonderful to see them together. They're best buds.

Calgary to Halifax - Part IV (thats 4) - Niece Date - My Afternoon with Marilu

She's the only girl out of all boy cousins around these parts, exactly like myself when I was her age, so I thought I'd take her on an afternoon of girly things. So after our manicure, (she now has a profile at Life Salon and Spa :-). They thought she was my daughter and since we have the same last name, I didn't bother to correct them; it wasn't worth it to further confuse the new girl who didn't know how to enter appointments into the computer.

Isn't she a pretty little thing??

We had such a great time. We went to Mexicali Rosa's and she kept pointing out all the things that weren't ACTUALLY spanish. haha. I knew everything when I was 9 too.

Ahhh ... Mexi's. How I'd forgotten about the warm, seasoned tortilla chips and fresh, homemade salsa that comes with every table. We polished it off quite nicely. And quickly.

Chicken Avocado Salad. Edible bowl if you're not a lameballs gluten free like me.

Amazing salad with salsa, cheese, green onions, delish chicken (sad to report the extra avocado was hard - like the kind I don't buy in the grocery store). But otherwise, it was amazing. Cilantro dressing?? Better than it sounds!

Fun day! We met up with her parents at Lulu and went down to the Wave fr

om there. It'd gone from 30 to about 10 from one day to the next.

I was unprepared and silently complained about my state of warmth.

Calgary to Halifax - Part 5 - The Wave

The world famous Wave with the world famous "Do Not Climb" sign at the base.

The kiddos attempt. Jonah in the lead.

Only one way to get down .....

The Wave is like gambling. Not with cash, but with your unbroken bones. 

Doesn't life look hard for Jonah??

Looks like the gamble paid off. Jonah makes it to the top.

Quinn quietly observes. Some day he says, some day.

Brotherly love

 Handley posing at the top.

After these shenanigans, its off to see the Venezulan tall ship thats docked in the harbour.

Calgary to Halifax - Part 6 - Waterfront and A Trip on to a Ship

After the pool, and the Wave - we were tourists and sauntered along the waterfront. (one of my favorite places ever)

Weird to see an Asian busker. He was really good, but did't take debit, so I couldn't contribute to his cause.

Heidi joined us (she's the one in scrubs)

There was a Venezulan ship in town (reason is unknown to me). Heres Barry, Iris and kids standing in front of the sign, with Barry hiding the 8th star. He explained why its bad when theres 8 stars, but I was freezing and could only thing of warm things.

The family with the Spanish sailors. I was so excited for Iris. Imagine, being sooo far from your home and you stumble upon a ship from your country, where they speak your language and aren't pasty white like the rest of the Canadians you're surrounded by! How happy would you be?!

Then Brad and Angelina show up with their white kid.

Big Ship.

Poor guys were sooo cold (I could relate) and were huddled together in groups, probably using Murphy on the Water's WiFi.

Cutest of all, Nate. Fleeing the scene. I don't know where he was going, but I followed him. Turns out, nowhere in particular.

View from another angle

Ms Thang herself posing in front of it.

Calgary to Halifax - Part 7 -Two If By Sea aka TIBS

Two if by Sea is a super cool coffee shop in Dartmouth, and now in Halifax on the waterfront. After the ship, we decided to grab a hot drink and get out of the cold Atlantic breeze.

Heres my handsome bro with his ... whatever crazy drink he gets. It could stand up and walk away on its own, its so strong. I took a sip and gagged. But he likes it so it none my biznaz.

His gorgeous wife holding a bag that says "Eat Butter". If anyone should listen to that statement, its her. Maybe then I wouldn't look like someone supersized me when I stand next to her.

Barry getting schooled on how that get that funky design on the top of the drink.

Han the Man with a cookie the size of his head. Look how thick that thing is! Betcha theres butter in that!

Aw. Matching father and son. Too cute for words. Mark's happy to be there. Really. He is.

Sisters in law chatting. Happy they're mine. xo

No words.