Canada Halifax Mission Trip: Day 6

Today was the day that we were going to go see Jen (a member that Blaine had helped get baptized) and Blaine was super excited! We got up at a normal time and had donuts and hot chocolate for breakfast. We left Beddeck after loading up on gas and made our way back to Halifax where I am pretty sure I took a nap haha

We had to stop to get gas again so we wouldn't have any issues again and we have a spiritual moment....I had a feeling that I should check my email and even though it was going to cost a fortune, I did and it turns out Jen was trying to get a hold of us! Blaine had tried her in the morning but she was already at work and we had no way of reaching her. Good thing I checked, we called her, and made plans for dinner and hanging out.

We saw a lot of the Halifax outer area where you were going on your way to Peggy's Cove. Before we got to the cove, we visited this memorial overlooking the coast for a fallen plane. Very neat and relaxing because the wind and breeze was just delicious and I just sat on a rock for the longest time. Then we went to Peggy's Cove! That place was so neat! Stinks that it was cloudy but still so fun! Blaine and I practiced being photographers and toured the little town. It was FILLED with people.

Then we headed to Lunenburg to see Jen. We drove a little bit until we knew she was close to being home and we hung out with her granddaughter and Andre her silly husband lol She is so great and so funny and so sweet and caring! The way she talked about Blaine and all the stuff she said about him almost brought tears to my eyes! We went to dinner, walked around the warf and stuff, looked at shops, ate ice cream, drove around town, and talked until midnight! So many stories, memories and we made a great friendship. We love the Beaudins!

Canada Halifax Mission trip: Day 5

CAPE BRETON

Well today was super interesting! We woke up and left our hotel room to go to the Miner's Museum in Glace Bay and it was really neat! At first, we spent a few minutes outside to look at some things by the sea and then once inside, we did an exhibit with pictures and artifacts about mining. We then heard like an hour long talk about mining from a cute miner and it was crazy to know that mining is still the most dangerous job out there! Poor people serioulsy. The mining owners were just so greedy, mean, and selfish. The miner's families were so poor, indebted to the owners, and I think they were basically legal slaves of some sort. Well we finally got inside the mine (don't worry, it's all safe and stuff now). We did have mining hats though and a poncho so we wouldn't get wet and dirty. We went inside the earth 65 feet I think and it was cool! We had to bend our backs though as the space was only about 4 feet tall in some places. Blaine had to sit down on the ground because he couldn't bend that much anymore! They talked about how with a canary bird they check the toxicity of the mine, they have like 20 minutes for lunch, there is a garden down there for good luck and cheer, and it was just hard work! Great pictures.

Then we made our way to the causeway and went to start the world famous Cabot Trail! Sounds awesome huh? lol Well it was but there were a lot of walls of trees for many miles....we did the whole thing in like 5 hours. There were spots where you saw lakes, mountains, valleys, beach, ocean, and pretty stuff. There were also a ton of cute shops but we only stopped at this leather shop that was extremely and sadly expensive but everything was made by hand and so cute! JOni and I even made this little braid bracelet and I got to keep it.

Well our roadtrip was made even more awesome by the fact that we saw a bear! A black bear cub and so cute! It was eating berries or something and it didnt seem that scared. We took a ton of pics and kept driving until we found dinner! DELICIOUS steak that I ate ALL of it. Perfection. So by that Chitticamp place, the gas station was closed already and the gas light was on! Well we knew we could make it a few more miles and slowly we drove to Beddeck...where their gas stations were also closed! They close at like 4....dumb. We thought we had to sleep in the car. We even tried 3 different credit/debit cards and since it was closed, we think that they didn't take them. Plus, CANADA loves Master Card and we didn't have any so we had issues! But luckily we could like coast to a hotel and stayed there. Whew! It was nice to have a bed haha

Canada Halifax Mission trip: Day 4

PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND


In the morning we went to Wal-mart and Old Navy after our quick breakfast in our hotel room (Joni and Lydia had bought groceries :) ) because I needed a new memory card (i take way too many pics), Joni needed make up, and then at Old Navy I got a skirt for the beach and all the girls got flip flops! Much needed :)


So after, we just had a drive around the entire island basically and visited parts of the National Park and we hung out on Delvay Beach for a good long chunk! It was perfect weather and so beautiful and I took some great pics! Lydia was our little model and she's so adorable. Blaine and Lydia kept having pebble bouncing contests and they were both really good! Even at the stinky beach they did that. We then had lunch by the water near Covehead Harbor and ate at Richar'd Fresh Seafood Eatery and thankfully I could have chicken fingers (that weren't that awesome) but I had a vanilla milkshake to accompany it and it was to die for!


We kept driving around and saw the Veich's house in Rustico, they were a family that Blaine got to know and loved. Then we went to the Stinky Beach (haha that's what we had to call it) that was on another part of the coast and I think it stunk because of seaweed and all the dead jelly fish and well ugly fishy smells that come from the sea.


Then as Blaine was getting tired, we went and saw the Anne of Green Gables area while he slept in the car. We saw the house, a trail, a barn, got slushies and cookies and just hung out with the girls. Then we all headed over to Ripley's Believe it or Not! because we randomly found it in the middle of Cavendish! (near the green gables and the author's grave site)


Then time for dinner! We had an outdoor dinner at a fun restaurant and it was delicious! I had a pizza and a salad of course and I tried the lobster lol Smells nice and the butter tastes good but no thank you. Haha then we just walked around downtown and ended the night by visiting Destiny and her two kids Darius (7) and Harmony (3?). So cute! They love Blaine and he is so good with them. We recounted funny stories and she's just so cute. A great photographer too! Whew! Back to the hotel :)

Canada Halifax Mission trip: Day 3

Sussex to Moncton to Prince Edward Island

Well we woke up in Sussex and had a light but yummy breakfast. We wanted to visit the streets of Sussex because they have this collection of about 24 or so murals all over the walls of the buildings! Some were better than others but they all had their story and it was pretty neat to play "I spy a mural" haha We took pictures, found the murals, and ate the most horrendous slurpee in our lives! This lady who was probably more than 100 years old was selling them and we were thirsty and well yuck....we were going to be sick! Blaine and I also bought pretty picture and then we were on our way to Moncton to visit with Crystal!

Blaine personally baptized Crystal after she had been meeting with a bunch of different missionaries. It was his first baptism. We all ate lunch at a KFC where they didn't have biscuits! I almost died haha they didn't even know what they were. WEIRD! They also have their plum sauce for the chicken....weird! I'm glad I live here :) But either way, it was so great to catch up with Crystal. I was pen pals with her during the mission and I got to know her really well. It was so great to finally meet my Canadian friend!

Well a couple more miles of driving and we winded up on a beach! We just made this little pit stop and it was a beautiful beach! There wasn't a lot of people there, the water was perfectly warm, and we played, took pictures, and enjoyed playing with crabs while killing jellyfish that were all over the place. We also stopped by little shops to buy frozen yogurt and buy a wooden lighthouse from this cute little man carpenter. I though the lighthouse was for Joni and it turns out Joni bought it for us! How sweet.

Then we crossed the Confederation Bridge over to Prince Edward Island which is beautiful! Really, the most beautiful place we saw in Canada. We visited this monument to the bridge where you could see the concrete work (which Blaine absolutely loved) and went inside little shops. Then we drove in the car to see the area, find Charlottetown and find a place to eat! We just ate at A&W and I had two twin baby burgers which were so cute!!!! We then made our way to finding a hotel and it turns out all of Charlottetown was booked! Regis and Kelly were here (Blaine had no idea who they were....still) and the day before or something Lady Antebellum, Taylor Swift, and Keith Urban were there for a festival so the island was stacked up with people! Random huh? lol But the people at one hotel were kind enough to refer us to another hotel and they made a call to get reservations. Finally, sleep!