Part 3 of The Muddiest Vacation Ever

I guess I still need to post about the last leg of our trip this summer.

From Hopewell Cape we drove to St. Andrews-by-the-Sea where we stayed at the Hotel Algonquin. On our drive we passed through Alma while the tide was out. The boats sitting on the ocean floor are a great example of the magnitude of the tide.

{fishing boat at low tide - Alma NB}

By the time we arrived here, we were tired and really ready to relax.

Well, this was certainly the place to do that.

{a view of the hotel from the pool}

The hotel was gorgeous and far exceeded my expectations. There was shuffle board, mini golf, a beautiful outdoor pool. There were thick white bathrobes for us in the bathroom, plus our room had a little kitchenette and a sitting area. There was even a bar within the hotel with pool, foosball and air hockey. All that and it was within walking distance of the town and the Bay.

{shooting pool}



{mini golf}

{shuffle board}



{relaxing by the pool}



{cool NB fog}

{the pier in St. Andrew's}

In addition to enjoying all the amenities the hotel had to offer, we managed to get to Minister’s Island, Kingsbrae Gardens and the Huntsman’s Marine Centre.

Minister’s Island is only accessible at low tide by driving across a sandbar and was the summer estate of a CP rail magnate back at the beginning of the 1900’s. This summer estate makes my house look positively puny.

{the estate at Minister's Island}

 

Kingsbrae Gardens was Meredith’s excursion of choice (Mastodon Ridge in Truro was Isobel’s). The gardens were filled with lush, blooming flowers and many unique bushes and trees. It was a gardener’s delight and I think Meredith took over 300 photos in an hour and a half!!

{self portrait}

{in the hedge at Kingsbrae}

Huntsman’s Marine Centre was undergoing renovations but had the cutest harbour seals that were willing to perform some tricks for us.

{Soki the harbour seal}

We were in St. Andrews for 5days and 4 nights – not long enough in my opinion. I think you could visit the Hotel Algonquin and never leave without getting bored.

We left early in the morning on the 20th and drove home through the USA. Our plan was to stop in Albany NY but by the time we got there we weren’t ready to stop but when we were ready to stop we were only about 4 hours from home so we pushed through and drove 16 straight hours to arrive home shortly after midnight.

It was a great trip, but it was nice to sleep in my own bed again.

Lake Ontario Fog

A couple of weeks ago, I went for my regular walk in the morning down by the lake. I love walking at the lake in the morning. There’s something about the sound of the waves crashing against the shoreline and the geese and ducks floating on the waves that just makes me smile. If I’m ever in a grumpy mood, heading down to the lake always sets me right.

But I digress.

It was a hazy humid morning and as I got closer to the lake, the less I could see. The fog was so thick you could barely see 20 feet in front of you. It was beautiful.

I walked along the water’s edge enjoying the haze and fog wishing I had my camera with me. So, when I got home I packed the girls into the truck and raced back down there with my camera. The fog had lifted slightly. I took these photos and thought they were worthy of sharing.

I hope you like them as much as I do.

My Eyes

I’ve been getting some questions from friends lately about my eye and how it’s doing these days.


I did have an appointment with the Retinal Specialist a couple of weeks ago. Unfortunately my vision at this appointment was worse than at the appointment before. I had some Digital Imaging done and the Doctor reviewed the results with me.

At this point there is not enough ‘fluid’ on the retina to warrant treatment with medication (The Shot), so we wait. My vision fluctuates from day to day and even over the course of a day I notice it changing. I notice it most when I’m looking at things close up. Details no longer come easily to me, however that could be attributed as much to age as to the retinal issue. My long distance vision is affected inasmuch as I can’t read street signs from as far away as I used to. Other than that, it’s like I’m looking through a haze and on really bad days images sometimes seem distorted or even double but I can still see just fine. Honest. It’s very hard to explain. It’s almost like seeing shadows.

So, yet again, we wait. I’ve picked up some mild reading glasses to use when I’m scrapbooking, knitting or doing anything close up. Apparently the reading glasses at the dollar store are just as good, so I bought a few pairs. I have another appointment in December and more Digital Imaging. The vision in that eye needs to remain constant and when that happens I will most likely be fitted with prescription glasses that will address both the near and far sighted issues I find myself with right now. He promises me they will be ‘cool mom glasses’, whatever that is.

The ironic part of all this (as some of you already know) is that I’ve always wanted glasses. When I was in Grade 3, I intentionally read all the letters wrong on the eye chart. Obviously I was so far off the mark the technician recognized what was going on and I did not get glasses.

The moral of the story? Be careful what you wish for.

Back to School and Some Other Stuff

Well. The girls went back to school on Monday. None of us were really ready to have the summer end but I have to say the return to some kind of routine is good. We don’t do well in chaos. And I don’t do well without a schedule. It doesn’t matter if I’ve scheduled time to read or laze about, I just need to know. I’m a little odd that way.

Here are my happy girls on their first day.

And what have I been doing you ask?

The new scrapbook store, Scrapbook Queens, opened in Mississauga on Tuesday so I met my scrapbooking friends up there and we all went for lunch. It is a lovely store with lots of wonderful space for cropping. I’m sure I’ll find myself there frequently. There was the standard laundry and cleaning that needed to get done. Plus I’ve managed to walk each morning, but I did find myself a little lost this afternoon. I wasn’t quite sure what to do. Sadly, I think the time has come for me to return to some kind of work outside of the house. A part of me is excited about that prospect and a part of me is positively petrified.

I’ll keep you posted. I’m thinking it’s not going to be easy to find employment after having been home for 13 years. Plus I can only work from 10 to 2, perhaps 3 days a week, and of course I’ll be needing summers, PA Days, March Break and Christmas Holidays off. But I’m willing to try.

One thing I did to fill my time this afternoon was another 365 page. I can’t believe I haven’t done one since July. Here it is: