Monday, August 9, 2010

Surprise!

Well I managed to keep a secret with a friend of mine and surprised all of my 'northern' friends who were all visiting in Nova Scotia!!!! Rob and I left Friday at noon, and landed in Nova Scotia just after 8pm. We picked up our rental car, grabbed some booze and McDonalds and headed towards Blomidon where Donna, Roger and Mitch live. We managed to find the place ok, only having to turn around once, and when we pulled up, they were all having a bon fire outside. Gina, who knew we were coming, saw us pull up - it was very dark at this point, and she came over and gave us a big hug. We all walked over to the bon fire, were it was very quiet, and I surprised them all by saying "Hey guys, lets get this party started!!" It was dark out, and it took a few seconds for everyone to realize who I was, and then they all got up and gave me a big hug, asking me what the hell I was doing there! Kevin, Mitch, Konrad and Michelle were all at the fire, and then we headed in to where Donna and Roger were. Kevin had gone ahead and woke up Donna, and when I walked in, she walked and was so shocked that I was there! Roger was also shocked, and I think he even had a bit of a tear in his eye! We hung out by the fire that night and talked, had our usual laughs and good times! The next day was pretty slack, we walked by the beach, walked the tide role out - they have one of the fastest moving tides in the world, about 30 seconds a foot it roles out. That afternoon Rob and I went for a drive and watched Mitch play softball for a bit. I wasn't feeling the greatest, and it was very windy out, so we ditched early as I had no jacket. We decided to take the scenic root home, which took us right to the water's edge, a cute little town, with houses on the water. We took the back roads home and enjoyed some Nova Scotia country side. We feasted on lasagna, to prepare us for a long night of poker. And long it was. I didn't do well, unlike beginner Rob, who did very well! We played till 5am, and when we saw the day approaching, we figured it was time to go to bed.
Sunday was a bit of a dodgy day, you can imagine. But we got ourselves in order and headed to a place not to far away, and went on a short walk to "3 pools". Its an unmarked trail and was actually had to trespass to get to the trail down. There were quite a few people there already, so we weren't the only ones to trespass! And guess what, when we arrived there was a waterfall with 3 pools. It was so pretty and kinda reminded me of some of the places I've been to in Australia. Rob and Kevin jumped into the water off a rope. I wouldn't dare try. I'd probably not have the upper body strength to hold myself up, slid down the rope, and hit the rocks, not what I call exciting!

Today was an awesome day of hiking. We hiked the "Cape Split", a world famous hike that is about 6 km's one way. We were up early, and hit trail by 9:15. The first part of it was very muddy, and I was being super careful with my foot. Luckily Gina has joint issues, so she stayed behind with me. We were close to the end, but decided to take a detour and headed down the side of the hill. We ended up getting to some steep parts that actually had ropes to assist you when going down, and the last part was actually a stream that we followed down. At the bottom, was a small, very rocky secluded beach. This is where we stopped for lunch and enjoyed the quiet serenity of Nova Scotia! We hiked back up and took a chance taking another path, which ended up taking us right to the split. The view was spectacular, and you could see the tide and the current fighting each other which was causing waves in the middle of the ocean. So cool.
We arrived back home at 4:30, and walked a total of 16.8 km's! Gina had a few blisters on her feet from some MEC hiking sandals she bought, and I got a blood blister/blister on my right 4th toe. I could feel it forming just when we started our hike back, but there was nothing I could do. So Rob went and got salt water for Gina and I to soak our feet. Thanks Rob!
Tomorrow we head back to Calgary, and look forward to a busy week ahead!

Just in front of the Rand's house, they also have some of the highest tides in the world
This would be at low tide :)
Sunset at Scot's bay
Rob and I had 3 pools
On our hike to Cape Split
Mitch and I at the split
Lookout about 5 minutes from the Rand's

1 comment:

Matt, Kara, Hunter and Cavan said...

That is pretty neat that you got to surprise them all!