Good bye Halifax, thanks for all the...Lobster

Happy boy with steamed lobster:

Another happy boy:

Tentative girl with her steamed lobster:

Watch Clara's face as Marc shows her how to get the lobster tail:

Leo trying to crack his GIANT claw:

All done!

A Beach in the City

Birch Cove Beach in Dartmouth.  A cute, little beach in a residential part of Dartmouth was just right for practising handstands!

A Quick catchup post seems required... I'm typing from the comfort of the Bulpitt-Gray home in Halifax.  Margo and Chris have ever so kindly lent us their house and all the fun things in it while they are vacationing themselves.

We met up with Chris, Margo and Bridget at Red Point Provincial park in PEI and spend a night camping together which was a great way to catch up and let the kids get acquainted.  By bedtime that night, a pretty sweet relationship had been cemented between all three kiddos despite their age differences.  It turns out everybody loves a secret path. We considered camping a second night together but then we got the weather forecast... RAIN.  Margo and Chris were not prepared to take on a wet night of camping (heck, neither were we!)  and so it was decided they'd head to the Bulpitt family farm and we'd hit another provincial campground located just down the road from them in hopes of spending a bit more time together before going our separate ways.

The weather forecast turned out to be accurate and despite spending HOURS using the free wifi in the Montague McDonalds trying to wait it out, we still ended up having to set up camp in the pouring rain.  The time spent at Brudenell River Provincial Park was sadly not a beautiful memory for us... it either poured with rain or we were being swarmed by mosquitoes   What was memorable was the gorgeous afternoon and decadent meal we were treated to the next day (which made a wet night seem like much less of a big deal) at the Bulpitt farm.

Blue sky, hot sun, a lovely pool and lots of people to enjoy it with.  That pretty much sums up our afternoon/evening with Margo and her family on the farm.

The next day we packed up camp under grey skies and headed toward the ferry... goodbye Prince Edward Island... it rained the whole drive and throughout the ferry crossing, qu'elle surprise!!!

Anne of Green Gables

This winter we read Anne of Green Gables with our bookclub.  We both loved the book (Laurel for the second time) and always knew we'd have to visit Green Gables when we were on PEI this Summer.

When we got to Green gables it was a beautiful sunny afternoon and we could really imagine what LM Montgomery had been writing about all those years ago.  The place was beautiful, we even got to walk down "Lovers Lane" and through the "Haunted Woods" that Anne described so passionately.

There was even an Anne look alike walking around Green Gables.  She introduced herself and was very true to character.

Here is a photo we took with her and a bunch of other shots at Green Gables.

Clam Digging

When I was reading about things to do in Kouchibouguac National Park I came across mention of clam fishing. From what I read and the photos I saw online it seemed like it would be pretty easy, fun, and cheap activity to try. I asked a kind lady at the information center and she gave me a pamphlet about soft shell clam fishing and tried to explain what we were looking for and how to dig for clams. She also told us to speak to Rachel at the campground as she loves “clamming”. So, off I went to find Rachel and get her advice. It turns out the vision I had in my head about clam digging was way off of reality. I thought you just dug about on wet sand after the tide went out and found clams. Nope. She said we'd be standing in water looking for “blinking eyes” in the sand.

That afternoon we went off looking for these “eyes” and found NOTHING. Even when we did see something that we thought might be “eyes” I discovered how icked out I was at the idea of digging it up! I was disappointed with our failed attempt but we ended up having lots of fun playing with all of the hermit crabs we found while poking about in the tidal pools.

Hermit crabs

The very next day while on another beach in the park I saw a woman who appeared to be hunting for clams. I'd said all along that I thought I just needed someone to show me exactly what I was looking for and how to dig so I went over to talk with her right away. She showed me the blinking eyes and once I'd seen it, I was able to spot lots more. It was exciting and kind of weird to start digging in hopes of feeling the edges of a clam shell. I broke a few shells while figuring out the technique and then finally – Success!!! I started bringing up whole, live clams! It was really exciting and kind of addictive. I could have continued for hours but, the hot midday sun and the fact that we were fishing for clams without a permit made us decide to leave while the going was good. We ended up with 11 live, mostly regulation sized clams. Clara really got the hang of digging after awhile but Leo was once again far more interested in the hermit crabs he found along the way.

My first catch

Back at the camp site we let our little clam friends rest in salt water for the afternoon so they'd rid themselves of their sand and then we steamed them for dinner! I think it was the first time any of us ate food we'd caught and prepared ourselves. The clams were tasty if a little sandy but as far as I'm concerned the experience was absolutely amazing. I'd love to do it again while we are so close to the ocean.

Resting in saltwater

Yummy fresh Clams!

Back at it for the Summer of 2013!

First post, second camp ground, and third day away from home on our Summer adventure.  This time, we've packed up the Echo for 5-6 weeks of camping and visiting in the Maritimes!

It turns out that when it comes to packing up for a long trip AND leaving the apartment in an acceptable condition for tenants to move in, we should just assume it will take until mid-afternoon.  Once again, we only left Montreal at around 3pm which made the decision to stop in Rivier du Loup a good one.  Imagine our surprise when we pulled up at the camp ground to find it was located right in front of this beauty:

Noel Au Chateau

After two nights in Riviere du oup we headed for New Brunswick.  Did you know they are building new highways on both the Quebec and New Burnswick side of the Trans Canada?  We didn't. As a result didn't get as far as we anticipated which is fine because now we've been able to spend time in and discover Grand Falls, NB!

Birthday number two

Yesterday was my birthday, I spent most of the day with Clara shopping at the Wrentham outlets near Sharon, MA.  Not everyone would agree but for us it was a great day spent together.  We had one real goal, new gym shoes for Clara, beyond that we were just browsing.  Many hours later, Clara had some awesome, bright Pumas, an Aeoropostale Tshirt, a Tshirt for Leo and I bought myself a fantastic birthday dress and lovely little orange flats that match. 

We were late getting home which was a bit of a problem since Jon and Erin had a babysitter at the house so the adults could go to dinner and see the new Batman movie.  Thankfully it didn't really effect the evening plans too much and the kids all had a great time with their babysitter Sarah while we wined and dined saw Christian Bale talk funny as Batman.

Pretty great day all round. 

It is hard to maintain our blog when we are camping in state parks.  We haven't had much internet access since leaving Niagara Falls.  So, quick update:  We Left Niagara Falls and stopped in Buffalo, NY to visit the science museum there.  There was a special exhibit called Grossology (named after a series of books and tv shows) that we wanted to check out.  We learned all about the "gross" things our body does and soon after we'd finished learning about snot, farts, and poop Leo started showing signs of a fever :(  So, the virus that knocked Clara out for two days made its second appearance.  We loaded him up with tylenol and got in the car.  Our destination was Cayuga Lake State Park at the northern end of Cayuga Lake, one of New York's Finger Lakes.

Operation at Grossology

We set up camp with Leo lying in the shade holding on to the puke bucket aka the ice cream container that lives in the backseat.  We set up camp successfully and went out for food (Leo perked up for a late dinner). We came home, snuggled in to our sleeping bags and fell asleep only to wake up a few hours later with one of the most intense thunder storms I've experienced in a tent.  Thankfully the tent only leaked a little but despite that it was a pretty miserable night.

It turns out that first night was pretty much an omen for what the next several days would bring - rain and lots of it.  Luckily the weather was really warm in between rainstorms so it didn't matter that our tent and sleeping bags were permanently damp.  We planned lots of daytrips from and managed to see the Corning Museum of Glass, did some wine tasting, and tours at a couple of local wineries and checked out another Classic car show in Seneca Falls (totally by accident).  Despite the regular showers there was still time to hit the lake and play beach volleyball with some locals.

 In the grape vines

 Two little penguins at Penguin Bay Winery.

Grape picking machine

Glass sculpture at the Corning Museum of Glass

Kiddie pyrex at the Corning Museum of Glass

Distiller at Swedish Hills Winery

This post brought to you by McDonalds

All of today's posts are thanks to McDonalds free Wifi and air conditioning.  We are thankful for a place to cool off, recharge our batteries (literally) and get caught up with our blog.

The beach was hard on us all

Yeah, the beach was a tough place to leave...

But now we are in Niagara Falls and experiencing lots of new things. Most notably, camping in high heat with a feverish, nauseous, headachey girl-child :( It is okay now as she appears to be on the mend. We did manage to see the Falls and Ripley's Believe it or Not Museum before we started loosing her.

Sitting in the world's tallest man's chair

The Falls 

Soldiering on

Beach Days

So, we've been at Sauble for almost a week now and the weather has been incredible.  We've been at the beach just about every day, sometimes twice a day!  Everyone is sun-kissed, sandy, and HAPPY.   The general routine goes something like this: wake up, snack, hang out, eat lunch, hang out, watch a gymnastics show, hit the beach, come home in time to make a late dinner (last night we ate at about 8:30), hang out some more, crawl into bed tired and maybe a wee bit inebriated.

Throw in some canoe rides, a day at daycamp, a visit to a country market, and a drive in movie, and that about covers our deviations from the regular schedule.

Freeeeee!

I didn't go to the beach with the gang this afternoon, instead I enjoyed a bit of quiet at the cottage and then decided to hop on Laura's coaster bike and enjoy the sun on my face and the wind in my hair.  It was just me, the road and the smells of Sauble Beach.  First I stopped at the pink and blue umbrella to visit with Marc and Adrian (Amelia, Clara and Leo were in the water), then I biked over to the Newbould cottage to see who was there.  I found uncle Frank and chatted with him a bit.  After hello the first thing out of his mouth was how much I look like my grandmother, he said I smile just like her.

The bike ride back to NewWaters was just as wonderful, a completely different experience from biking in the city.  Maybe next time I'll bike all the way to the Main End.

Wow, we are already at the end of our first week of vacation.  It is time to re-pack the Echo (give me strength) and hit the road.  We managed to see almost everyone on our list in Toronto.  The raspberries in uncle Campbell's backyard were outstanding, meeting baby Samuel was surreal, hanging out with Kirsten not one evening but TWO was probably a first.  All in all a great start to our trip.

Laura shared Samuel with us on Saturday afternoon, he is such a little cutie with dark, intense eyes.  As with her cousin Olivia, Clara was enamored by the baby.  Leo also held Sammy for a little bit but when he started squawking, he announced her preferred sleeping babies.

Later on Saturday we were invited to Uncle Campbell's for a backyard BBQ. Clara and Leo ate appetizers of fresh raspberries then fish on the BBQ.  They were both quite impressed when Cam cut off the fish heads and plopped the whole fish on the grill.

Here we are with the car all loaded heading off to the beach!

Day 2 of awesome family adventure

Just in case you haven't heard, we are on a 6 week family road trip!  This blog will be our journal while we are away.

We chose the blog title: Four Voices and an Echo last night sitting around the dining room table at Auntie Dorothy's house here in Ajax.  

We managed to pack 6 weeks worth of stuff into our little Toyota Echo and hit the road Sunday afternoon at around 4pm.  We'd hoped to leave MUCH earlier but  it turns out unpacking from summer camp, packing for this trip, and leaving the apartment in good shape for our tenants takes a lot of hours.  So, we had our first experience in being flexible before we even left Montreal.   Really though, leaving at 4 was fine.  We made it to Ajax by 10pm and the Clara and Leo were settled in their beds by 11pm.

Yesterday was a quiet day, we played at the park, napped in the shade of the backyard, and generally relaxed.  Clara and Leo have some recovering from Summer Camp exhaustion still to do but soon enough we'll be busy in Toronto.