PEIBlogs.com: the definitive Prince Edward Island blogroll since 2004.: Travel

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A View from North Cape - A new blog dedicated to pictures, history and information about North Cape PEI and its attractions.
(Added: 5-Aug-2008 Hits: 28 Rating: 0 Votes: 0) Rate It

Lucky Me, Service Call Heaven.

Part of my job is to provide tech service for the computers at the North Cape Gift shop, and Wind Energy Interpretive Centre. Yes, I get paid to drive up the beautiful shore and visit the North Cape Complex.

The Wind and Reef Restaurant is in the part on the right that is a bit out of view, fantastic seafood restaurant, great view. The center doors lead to the Gift Shop and Interpretive Centre. The lighthouse to the left is fully functioning, I believe it is maintained by the Coast Guard.

Below is the North America?s longest natural rock reef, at the tip of which the Gulf of St. Lawrence and Northumberland Strait converge.

Rare, beautiful, and pretty darned cool. It impresses me, and I live here.
Picture Day. (Yet another)

North Cape just begs for photo shoots. Blue sky, clouds and capes. I can't leave without shooting more.
Welcome!

I have created this blog to share North Cape and surrounding area and all of its unique and interesting views, history, and information with you. If there are any particular attractions, local lore or scenery that you would like to see before I get this blog nicely rounded, just drop me a comment, and I will certainly do my best to deliver.

For now, I leave you with a "Hello!" and a "Welcome"...sent your way with genuine Western PEI Hospitality. Hope to see you back soon!

Adventurous You - Outdoor Adventures Around Prince Edward Island. From Andy Raynor.
(Added: 7-Jan-2008 Hits: 62 Rating: 0 Votes: 0) Rate It

CEOBlues Travel - Reviews of places we've been....honest... Welcome to CEOBlues Travel. This is going to be the place where we (Becky and Dan James) post our thoughts, experiences, and reviews of our travels.
(Added: 1-Jul-2005 Hits: 346 Rating: 8.00 Votes: 1) Rate It

Five Things I Will Miss About Argentina

The Steak - It is cliche and everyone says it but there is a reason for this. The steak is incredible. Get a Lomo steak at a restaurant and you will never be disapointed. Is it really that good?! Yes. It's so good that if if you are a vegetarian you might want to pretend you are not when you visit.

The Service - The service at pretty much every restaurant, cafe, bus, ticket booth, etc is phenomenal. The people are friendly, they go out of their way to help you, and they offer a standard level of service far above anything we see in Canada.

The Coffee - 99% of cafes, restaurants, and even some little shops, have a fancy coffee maker and they know how to use it. Coffee also isn't just coffee here. If you order a coffee you'll always receive a little drink of juice, water, or soda water with it. Most likely you'll also get a few little treats too (cookies, sweets, etc).

The People - The people here are some of the nicest we've ran into in the world. There is always a smile, a laugh, and more often than not a joke. They are also incredibly patient as non-spanish speakers do their best to interact with them.

The Natural Beauty - This country is achingly beautiful. It is also amazingly diverse. Where Canada spreads across the globe mostly horizontally Argentina goes from north to south. In a span of just three days we saw monkeys in the jungle and penguins near the take off point to Antartica. Argentina has also provided us with two of the most awe-inspiring natural sights we have ever seen. Iguazu Falls in the north part of the country has pretty much guaranteed its role as the yardstick from which we will measure all waterfallls (Niagra is ugly and boring compared to it). Also, the glaciers in Patagonia took our breath away.
Does stepping foot in a country count?

During this trip we have had an ongoing debate with a few fellow travelers about what constitues a genuine visit to another country.

The issue that keeps coming up is: at what point can you say you've been to a country? The issue is spurred on by the checklist or scorecard mentality. The "Where you've been" app on Facebook is a very tangible example of this.

After heated debate an eventual agreement was reached at a round table in El Calafate, Argentina. We had people from 4 countries in on the discussion. This was not a formal event. It involved beer and sitting around.

We concluded as follows:

"I've Been To": This is good enough to check it off a meaningless list or adding it to Where I've Been. All that needs to happen is that you step foot in the country for any amount of time. For an airport connection/transfer you need to actually step foot outside of customs.

"I've Seen (or visited)": A much more debated point. Do you have to spend the night? Two nights? Three? Is it about time at all? Is it about seeing a certain percentage of the country? The general consensus was that it depends on the country and what you do. Generally a night spent was a requirement.

This debate isn't over! We'd love to hear your thoughts on it.
Travel Tips for Buenos Aires

We've been in South America for a month now and Buenos Aires for half of that time. We've just started to get a feel for the city and all that it has to offer. We have learned a few tips and tricks to make our time in BA a little better. We hope they help you out.

Get a Prepaid Movistar SIM Card

I have an unlocked iPhone 4 and it's been a tremendous help when exploring Buenos Aires. I acquired a pre-paid SIM card from Movistar after we first got here and have been using it on a daily basis. We use Google Maps, Google Translate, and generally just do everything we would normally do using it at home. I tweet, post photos, etc. Do I feel safe using an iPhone here? Absolutely. I'm careful about when/where I take it out but for the most part it's not a concern. We also have a cheap Nokia that we got a sim card for as well. This allows Becky and I the freedom to explore yet always be able to get in touch.

Get a Monedero Card

Bizarrely coins are incredibly hard to come by here. In fact we had to go wait in a bank for 45 minutes to get enough coins to do our laundry the first week we were here. It's better than it was a few years ago but it's still noticeable. Two of the places you'll use coins the most are on the subway and on the busses. Thankfully they've released a pre-paid card system. You can pick up the green cards at any 25 Hours convienience store (it tooks us three stores to find on with cards available). The stores are everywhere. You can recharge your cards at any subway (Subte) stop or any 25 Hours Convieniences. The cards are free.

Upgrade Your Flip Flops and T-shirts

We're staying in the classy Recoleta neighborhood but this seems to be a general theme throughout the city. People dress quite well. You'll probably feel a bit out of place at mid-range restaurants if you're sporting the typical traveler/backpacker uniform of cheap flip flops and an ironic t-shirt. A simple shirt with a collar can spiff you up enough to not stand out. All of that said, the people here are so nice that they will welcome you with open arms and you'll be the only person who noticed you don't have a nice shirt.

Learn Some Spanish

Spanish is a beautiful language, for that reason alone you should learn it. We've found that by making an effort to speak to everyone we meet in their own language it's really been appreciated. This isn't unique to Buenos Aires and is true the world over. Here in Buenos Aires though there is something more than the usual appreciation. There seems to be a genuine pleasure for those we interact with when we whip out our best phrases. Maybe we're just entertaining them :).

Eat Meat

If you're a vegetarian you might want to consider a brief lapse in your eating habits while in Argentina. Simply put the beef is second to none. There are salads, chicken, and ham dishes but for the most part beef is everywhere and eaten all the time. Our favourite thus far has been the Bife de Lomo.

Drink Coffee

There are cafes everwhere and they are used heavily. Everyday around 4-6 they fill up with people having snacks, coffee, and drinks. The coffee has been superb. Tip: Argentinians typically don't drink Cafe con leche past the morning.

Drink Wine

Red is the most prevalent and it's incredibly cheap. A nice wine at a nice restaurant will cost you $10-12 dollars (~40 pesos) for a bottle.

Use the Subte (Subway)

The subway is very reasonably priced (1.10 pesos/trip ~35 cents). It is a relatively clean and fast way to get around some parts of the city quickly. We're luck to have a stop just a few blocks from our apartment.

Buenos Aires Free Tours

This free tour service (they make their money on your tips) is excellent. We've been on two tours so far and have found the guides to be very entertaining, knowlegable, and easy-going. They also make their personal email addresses and phone numbers available to everyone on the tours so you can continue to ask them questions as you explore the city. Well worth the tip you gladly give them at the end of their tours.
Today's Snout Index = 5

Dan and I have been keeping track of our daily Golden Retreiver (or 'snouts' as they are known in the Howard family) sightings on this trip. We are up to 5 already today and that was just on our early morning walk!

The last few days have been spent working though the days and exploring as much as we can in the evenings or on the weekend. This is a great city with lots of beautiful buildings, really friendly people and great parks.

This weekend was spent wandering the parks of Palermo and visiting the Sunday market in San Telmo. Here are some pics of the last few days!
Prepaid Movistar MicroSim Card in Argentina
Before coming to Buenos Aires I did a lot of research on how I was going to get my Iphone4 hooked up and working with a pre paid micro-sim card. I found a few really helpful blogs (thanks Dave!) that talked about the Movistar Prepago packages and how to get that working with an iphone4.

I was certain that the prepaid cards Movistar would give me would be the full size sim card and that I would have to cut it down to fit in my iphone4 (which is a microsim).

After arriving in the city and hunting around for a few days I found the Movistar Mothership at Av. Santa Fe 1844 (corner of Callao and Santa Fe). Luckily it was only a 10 minute walk from our rented apartment. It is also close to the Subte (metro).

The process was quite simple:
- Walk in the door
- Someone will greet you once you enter. They will have a phone/pda thing. They will ask you your name and what you are looking to do. Give your name to them and thell them you are looking to buy a prepago chip. They will enter in your name into their little device.
- You'll go up an escalator where you'll see an LCD screen with your name. There will be two numbers associated with your name. A No. 0XX and a Caja/Box. Don't worry about the No. Just the Box/Caja number. There will be a series of desks around the floor. They all have numbers on them. Find the number that correlates to your box/caja number on the screen. The lower numbers are located back down the escalator on the main floor.
- Ask for a pre-paid chip and show them your phone. They will know which phone takes which chip (at least they knew an iphone4 takes a micro-sim). I just said "Chip prepago" and they knew what I was looking for.
- There will be a series of questions thrown at you. Most of them you won't understand unless your spanish is MUCH better than mine. You will need your passport, a credit card, and your address in Buenos Aires.
- They will write all of that down in their computer, they will probably dissapear once or twice to a printer and to get the chip.
- They will insert the chip into your phone and ensure it is activated and working.
- You will need to sign the document they print out.
- Cost: For me in December of 2010 it cost ~12,00 pesos to get the microsim and have it activated.
- There is one person in the entire place that speaks english. She is very nice and very helpful. Ask for her (don't know her name, sorry) if you get stuck.
- In about 15 minutes I was back on the streat with a working microsim pre-paid plan.
Recharging

Your phone won't have any credit on it when you walk out of the Movistar office. You'll need to add credit to it. I buy pre-paid Movistar cards that I can add to my account. There is a Kiosko just a minute away from our apartment. Typically you buy an amount and get a bonus when you add it to your account. Dave has summed this up better at DiscoverBuenosAires.com. I bought 30 pesos worth but was given 60 pesos when I added it to my account as it ws a 2 for 1 day.

To add the credits you bought at the Kiosko simply:
- call *444 and wait for the nice voice
- press 2 and wait for the nice voice
- press 1 and wait for the nice voice
- Enter the number that was under the scratch away section of the credit you bought
- Enter #
- Hang up
You can also recharge without having to go through the voice commands.
- Go to your phone application
- Dial *444*The number that was under the scratch away section of the credit you bought#
- Hit call.
- You will receive an instant confirmation that your credit was added.
An other, and often easier way to add credit is to simply go into any Locoturiou (you'll see them everywhere) and ask to recharge your moviestar phone. They will ask you what your number is and how much you'd like to add to your account. They will type that information into a machine and you will receive a text telling you the amount has been added. You pay the clerk in cash.

You should almost immediately receive a text saying that the credit was added to your account.

Buying Data Access

There are a ton of pre-paid packages you can buy. The only one I was really interested in was the data package. It is 1GB (gigabyte) of data to use over the next 2 days. That is a LOT of data for that period of time. It costs 9 or 10 pesos.

To activate it simply text "Datos" (without the quotes) to 2345. You'll get a text back saying it will be activated shortly. Then a text a moment after that saying that it is activated. You're now all set.

So the long and the short of it: Yes, you can now get pre-paid (prepago) micro sim cards from Movistar in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Craig's Vacation Pics - Craiger is from Charlottetown.
(Added: 14-Aug-2006 Hits: 228 Rating: 0 Votes: 0) Rate It

Punta Banco Costa Rica
Alright, so this was the last part of my vacation. Had to take this little local flight from San Jose, down to a place called Golfito. From there, it was a 2 hour cab ride to Punta Banco, where my girlfriend is doing some research.Here was the tin can we flew in:

Did manage to get some nice aerial shots though.

So after the cab right, we made it to Punta Banco. The road was pretty rough along the way.

But we finally made it to this place called the Yoga Farm. We stayed there for the first 2 nights, but had to climb up this nightmare of a hill. It was steep, and long as hell.

But we finally made it up there, and the place was much nicer than I thought. It's an organic farm type thing, and everything is done environmentally friendly. They have a little bit of solar power, and they have a compostable toilet:

And a shower that uses rain water:

Here was our bed, complete with fly net:

So like the name says, it is a Yoga farm, so people go there primarily for Yoga, although they are trying to set themselves up as a research base too. But here was the Yoga part:

Had a great view as well, since it was so high up.

here are a few random pics of the town:

This is the store:

Make sure to drink up, cause it's damn hot!

So after a few days at the Yoga Farm, it was time to head out to the part where Rosayln would be doing her research from. We made arrangements to stay with a local indigenous family for a couple of nights. This involved a 3 hour walk on the beach.

After walking for 90 minutes, I was pretty much ready to die, but we took a break thank god for 90 minutes. Here is the wife of Moe and their little girl. They were the local indigineous family we stayed with

So after walking for over 2 hours, we were taking another break at this little rock face. Or so I thought. Turns out, we had to climb it to make it to Moe's. Here's part of it, along with Moe.

So we finally made it to Moe's little place, and it was a lot better set up then I thought it would be. We stayed in some tents

Moe and his family lived in this rancho

Some pics from around moe's place. They had some pigs and chickens

The big mango tree. Mango's were in season, so you'd just go in the tree, shake it, and a bunch of mango's would just fall to the ground

And Moe had this rice field

And here is the view of the Rancho, from the rice field

So that was that. I still have a bunch of other pics that I haven't uploaded yet. So I'll make a random photo thread next week sometime. These were some of the highlights though.
San Jose, Costa Rica
So the second part of my trip involved heading to Costa Rica. It was a hellish day getting there. Left Oxford, England at 5am, and arrived at our hotel like 26 hours later or something. Worth the trip though!We stayed the first 5 days at this sweet hotel called Hotel Bougainvillea. It was just outside San Jose, and it had this really cool garden. Was like 8 acres of plants and stuff

Some pics of San Jose in the evening from our hotel room during the day and evening.

We went to this biodiversity park a few minutes away. Pretty cool little spot.

They had a butterfly tent too. Don't worry, this guy was just resting.

And this crazy butterfly has wings that look like an owls eyes to try and scare off predators. Pretty damn crazy.

Also went into San Jose one day too. Not a fan of the city at all, so these were the best pics I could get. Then a couple at the end show a bit how not pretty the capital is.

The real San Jose. Doesn't look too bad here, but it was not very pretty in the city. Like, note the gaps between the road and the sidewalk. Kind of dangerous

So that was basically the first half of Costa Rica. I've got a bunch more pictures of when we went into Southern Costa Rica. Much better pics, so I'll post those soon.
Edinburgh, Scotland
Oban was nice, but Edinburgh was definitely the best city I've ever seen. Very cool architecture. Sadlly, we didn't get to spend much time there, as we had missed our train from Oban back to Edinburgh, but I got some good pics still. The city is divided in 2. One side has the older, more historic part of town, the other is more modern. Here are a bunch of pics.

So this was on the old side of the downtown. Very cool castle.

And that is a glimpse of Edinburgh. Thought I had more pictures uploaded, but not yet I guess. Will post more later.

And this was just on a church in downtown Edinburgh. Not really sure what it means, but I thought it was cool

So those are some of the pics from the trip. I have hundreds more, so I'll post some more soon.
Vacation pics!
Here are a few choice pics I took from the UK. I'll start off with some pics of Oxford, and Oban Scotland.
My girlfriend is doing her masters in Oxford, which is about 90 minutes from London. This is kind of heading to downtown Oxford

Oxford didn't really impress me a whole lot, but they did have this sweet little pub called the Turf Tavern. It's very hard to find, but we made it there

You think gas is high here? This ain't Cdn dollars either. 1 british pound = about 2.07 Cdn :shock:

Best part of the UK though was by far Scotland. Spent 4 nights up there. 2 in a place called Oban, and 2 in the capital of Edinburgh. Start off with some pics of Oban

Some dude wanted to build an homage to the Roman colisuem, but died before it was finished

We then took a ferry to the Isle of Mull, where we ended up getting stuck because we missed the last ferry. Had to spend a night in a tent, during a wind and rain storm. Good times

Had your typical UK weather, overcast and some rain:

Here was the ferry we took. Comparable to our ferries, and took about 45 minutes to get there.

Oban was nice, but Edinburgh was definitely the best city I've ever seen. Very cool architecture. Sadlly, we didn't get to spend much time there, as we had missed our train from Oban back to Edinburgh, but I got some good pics still. The city is divided in 2. One side has the older, more historic part of town, the other is more modern. Here are a bunch of pics:

So that was Oban.

Eastern Kings PEI Meeting Place - Appreciating the past - celebrating the present ~ preparing for the future! Photos and info from Eastern Kings. One of PEI's most popular websites. Hosted by The Leard's of Kingsboro, Prince Edward Island, maintained by The History Room, and served by TKO Computer Services.
(Added: 6-Oct-2008 Hits: 15 Rating: 0 Votes: 0) Rate It

farrellsgapyear - John D, Myretta, JD, & Keaton are off on an adventure 'around the world'. Our basic itinerary is as follows: Arrive Panama - September 6th. Travel through Central America. Leave Cancun, Mexico Dec. 19th for Sydney, Australia. Stay in Australia until Feb 3, 2006. One month in Bali, Indonesia. Few days in Singapore. Thailand March 4 - April 28th. Start Europe in Athens, Greece until at least June 11th as we have World Cup Soccer tickets in Cologne, Germany.
(Added: 11-Mar-2006 Hits: 235 Rating: 0 Votes: 0) Rate It

Keaton says our packs are worn and ready to go home----maybe he's right.

Keaton says our packs are worn and ready to go home----maybe he's right.
Originally uploaded by eunicemacdan.
Tower Bridge

Tower Bridge
Originally uploaded by eunicemacdan.
"Queen's Guard" Horse Parade ceremony

"Queen's Guard" Horse Parade ceremony
Originally uploaded by eunicemacdan.
Piccadilly Circus

Piccadilly Circus
Originally uploaded by eunicemacdan.
Thames - view from the London Eye

Thames - view from the London Eye
Originally uploaded by eunicemacdan.

Hidden Island Paradise - We all need a hidden island paradise.. right? Well... let me tell you about a place where you can feel safe. You can swim in the ocean, eat strawberries (right out of the berry patch) and sleep under the stars at night. Listen to birds singing and the wind gently in the trees....And THAT is just to start....
(Added: 25-Dec-2006 Hits: 128 Rating: 0 Votes: 0) Rate It

Stories Of My Hidden Island Paradise

Wood Islands Prints
"Welcome

Welcome to the site for Wood Islands Prints.
The Wood Islands part of the name is from the area (town?) where I live here on Prince Edward Island in eastern Canada. It is known best for the ferry terminal about two miles from home. The ferry goes across to Nova Scotia for about 7 months of the year and is a popular tourist attraction. In the winter the area loses all tourist attraction and drops to the relatively few permanent residents.
The Prints part of the name began about a decade ago when I first began marketing matted prints of photographs I had taken to local gift shops. The photography side of the business has settled to a small but steady business supplying postcards and photo-magnets of local scenes (produced through VistaPrint) to shops on the southeast corner of the island." read more...
This is a new blog written by Tom Schultz to help new Island writers to self publish.
As we move more deeply into the 21st Century and the age of information, the economic well being of Prince Edward Island will depend more heavily on the arts and the stories that will be the content of plays and paintings as well as books and music like those at the "Tunes and Yarns Virtual Cafe"
Enjoy the stories of my Hidden Island Paradise. As we take you on an artistic picnic of our culture through image, story and music. Just imagine being here...
Prince Edward Island - Imagine Being Here!

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"We would like to welcome you to our beautiful province. Prince Edward Island has welcomed visitors of all ages for many years, creating authentic Island experiences for everyone to enjoy. Our miles of sandy beaches are some of the best in the world. Our rich culture and heritage offer much to be seen and explored. And our warm hospitality sets us apart.

What unexpected and priceless gifts will your family take home? Family Vacation ideas
There's an Authentic PEI Experience for everyone-play a round of golf at an award-winning course; learn how an artisan creates their one-of-a-kind craft; attend one of our manyfestivals and events and sample some of the finest culinaryproducts, fresh from the farm and sea.
Fill your days with a scenic coastal tour, an evening of theatre or a fun-filled family activity. Make Prince Edward Island your next vacation destination. Discover why our visitors are already booking their return visit before they leave."

P.E.I Tourism website

Photo and content credit: Prince Edward Island Department of Tourism

Invest a little of your time with our new 2012 Prince Edward Island visitors guide and IMAGINE BEING HERE on my Hidden Island Paradise.
Island Wide Kitchen Party Feb 20th, 2012

"The Biggest Kitchen Party You've Ever Seen!"

"Each year Prince Edward Island celebrates Islander Day - so come February 20th it will be a holiday for ALL who live here ? both those native to the Island and those that have moved here from the mainland and away. Then there are those who may only be able to wish that they could be here.

There?s an alliance that has formed to unite both groups called Islanders by Choice and this year they are planning to kick the celebrations up a couple of notches ? throwing what they call
'The Biggest Kitchen Party You've Ever Seen'. There will be great entertainment and great food ? dancing, playing and above all having fun."

Click Here to read more and find the links. Click Here to join the fun! : )

EVERYONE IS WELCOME - Y'ALL COME... :)

I hope you can mark your calendar and come join "The Biggest Kitchen Party You've Ever Seen!"

Welcome to my Hidden Island Paradise.

I hope you are having an AWESOME day! :D

smiles :)

Gary
PEI Photo Shoot - Simply Awesome!!!

Have you ever read the book "Anne of Green Gables" by Lucy Maud Montgomery?

It is a romantic novel about a young orphan girl who came to Prince Edward Island to live with an Island family and work as a farm hand. (she was supposed to be a boy)

Anyway this young girl with flaming red hair and seven freckles had the most vivid imagination that led to all sorts of romantic adventures.

The book although written a hundred years ago remains a number one best seller to this day. Romantics the world over have followed their own dreams and found their way to Prince Edward Island to explore for themselves the land of Anne (with an e)

Now it's time to meet a real life Anne who also came to Prince Edward Island . Laura Jane is a true romantic with her very own adventure that also involves Prince Edward Island.

Let's first visit PEI Photo Shoot something organized by a half dozen Island business women some of whom are known as the Island Tweethearts. (need I say more)

To really get the back story on Laura Jane and Cam I need to take you on your very own "Whimfield" adventure.

I really wouldn't feel complete in doing this post on our famous "Anne" character without including a visit to "Cavendish Figurines" This business was started by two friends that I med during my "Community School" days. It has grown into a very successful business with (of course) International sales.

I hope that you have enjoyed this tiny taste of my "Hidden Island Paradise"

If you liked it please leave a comment and feel free to share it with your friends.

Oh yes and please if you liked the photo shoot let them know with a comment. Thanks!!!

Gary
Heating Oil Tank And Fuel Oil Tank Nightmare

Heating Oil Tank

Do you know what the worst nightmare could be for someone living here on my Hidden Island Paradise?

A Heating Oil Tank or a Fuel Oil Tank leak!

Why?

Because it ruins the fragile Island environment of my Hidden Island Paradise. It can create huge property damage and cleanup bills. It is not uncommon for a typical heating oil tank or fuel oil tank spill to be in to the six figure range.

What is the answer? RUPTUREseal This is a product invented right here on my Hidden Island Paradise to temporarily STOP the leak until there is a permanent solution and the heating oil tank or the fuel oil tank can be repaired or replaced.

Oil and fuel leaks can and do happen anywhere so check out RUPTUREseal to see how this product can save the day, the environment, your property and your bank account.

A simple solution to a nightmare of a problem.

I will post again soon.

Living Life in 3-D - It all seems surreal now, but it really happened. From Amsterdam, to Budapest, to Venice and then onward to the amazing Isle of Sicily. Then, Rome and Paris. Six people - Ash, Daniel, Terry, Mikey, Deirdre, Dave, travelling the world.
(Added: 20-May-2006 Hits: 204 Rating: 0 Votes: 0) Rate It

More Memorable Animals from the Zoo

A pretty duck (which are better, ducks or goats?)
That was one angry hippo
Can't forget the... um... sheep? pig? sheeppig?

"I betcha that's where the mountain lions hang out"
Curious George Visits the Zoo (the part that was left out of the children's book)

George makes some new friends!Looks like George isn't the only curious monkey...
George gets a little action!

George will try anything once...
An Exerpt From the Travel Journal

Wednesday, February 14 (Valentine's Day!)

Another fine day in Europe. We are mellowing on the train from Budapest to Vienna. Made it with 2 minutes to spare! A fine breakfast was had by all this morning and then we proceeded to the Budapest Zoo. After a few moments of lameness, it ended up being an amazing afternoon. ...from Ducks to Elephants! After a very reasonably priced meal at a chi-chi MacDonald's we went to the House of Terror which depicted Nazi and Soviet Occupations. Very interesting. And here we are on the train. So, we all had an awesome day in Budapest.

OUR WORDS FOR BUDAPEST

Deidre - Surprising
Dave - whirlwind/tornado
Daniel - c'est terrible!
Mikey - Authentic
Ashley - Indescribable
Terry - Awesome

SOME OF OUR BEST BUDAPEST MEMORIES?EXPRIENCES

Terry- Bath House
Ashley - Palace
Mikey - A tie between Palace and Dinner
Daniel - The hornbill at the zoo
Dave - from supper to the violin player
Deidre - when the gorilla met her gaze...

- Terry
Here's one of my Top Three Favourites.....
Budapest

"Who are the great travellers? They are curious, contented, self-suffiicent people who are not afraid of the past. They are not hiding in travel; they are seeking."

- Paul Theroux

London :: 2006 - Andrea's (www.kuhlschrank.com) second adventure in London - June 2-18, 2006.
(Added: 24-Jun-2006 Hits: 214 Rating: 0 Votes: 0) Rate It

Sat., June 17th, Fitting End
.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; } .flickr-yourcomment { } .flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; } .flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } The big finale to the day, Union flag colours style.
Sat., June 17th, The Fam Damily
.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; } .flickr-yourcomment { } .flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; } .flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } The Queen in purple there, she’s the main one. The Windsors get their fly-past on, balcony style.
Sat., June 17th, Masses at the Palace
.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; } .flickr-yourcomment { } .flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; } .flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } Everyone jammed into the area around the palace for the balcony appearance and the fly-past after the parade.
Sat., June 17th, Big Picture
.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; } .flickr-yourcomment { } .flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; } .flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } A more fuller view of the parade grounds, just as things were starting to wrap up.
Sat., June 17th, Birthday Girl
.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; } .flickr-yourcomment { } .flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; } .flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } Why she needed a blanket, I’ll never know. I guess that’s what happens when you’re 80. Phillip, Charles and Anne were riding behind the carriage in full military kit.

MacClure's Photos - Travel photos by Shane MacClure (also filed in Photos section)
(Added: 16-Apr-2006 Hits: 153 Rating: 0 Votes: 0) Rate It

Tue., May 1st, DSCN2134-Sherry

MacClure posted a video:

Montague - High School Girls' Hockey Tournament: Souris vs Kinkora. Video by Sherry MacDonald.
Tue., May 1st, DSCN2112-Sherry

MacClure posted a video:

Montague - High School Girls' Hockey Tournament: Souris vs Montague. Video by Sherry MacDonald.
Mon., April 30th, DSCN2104-Sherry

MacClure posted a video:

Montague - High School Girls' Hockey Tournament: Souris vs Montague. Video by Sherry MacDonald.
Mon., April 30th, DSCN2103-Sherry

MacClure posted a video:

Montague - High School Girls' Hockey Tournament: Souris vs Montague. Video by Sherry MacDonald.
Mon., April 30th, DSCN2144-Sherry

MacClure posted a photo:

Montague - High School Girls' Hockey Tournament: Souris vs Montague

My Euro Trek - A chronicle of preparations for a 3-month trip to Europe
(Added: 2-Jun-2006 Hits: 204 Rating: 0 Votes: 0) Rate It

Europe 2009
Please check my face book for updates as computer time is limited. Having a great time so far, Rome and Paris have been great, heading to Amsterdam today. Will make updates here once I am back home. See you all soon.
More Pics
For some more pictures of my time in Dover and Paris click this LINK
Bognor Pics 2

Bognor Beach - The English Channel

Good old game of Cricket

Portsmouth

English countryside

Arundel Castle

Pat and Ian's house
Bognor Pics 1

Ian

Pat

Bella

Chloe
Bognor Regis - Last Stop
Well this post will finish up the list of places visited during the trek around Europe. The last place that we visited was Bognor Regis. Bognor is famous for a couple of things, the birdman festival, retirement homes, and the rumored last words of George V of "Bugger Bognor". We chose Bognor, as it happens to be the home to lifelong friends Pat and Ian Dixon, and a visit with was something I wanted to make sure to do on the trip. I was also interested in getting to see Bognor as I had spent a couple of months there back in 1993 before I went to Africa.

Pat and Ian were nice enough to put us up at their house. While there we were able to meet two little foster girls Chloe and Bella. Two little sisters who were loads of fun and really sweet. I also got to see Pat and Ian's daughter Becky, who I hadn't seen in 14 years.

Most of the time we had in Bognor was spent relaxing, walking around the town or sitting down at the beach. We also went on a couple of day trips, we went with Ian to Portsmouth one day, and another with Pat, Ian and the girls on another day to Arundel Castle. Portsmouth is famous for it history as a port and ship-building city, and Arundel as it is a Castle that is still occupied and privately owned.

The time we spent in Bognor was a nice wind-down from the long trip, and a great opportunity for me to see Pat and Ian, spend a little time with them, and visit some of the places I remembered from my last trip. Ian drove us to the airport (thanks again Ian), and we had a nice flight home without any noisy Newfies or other irritants. After 11 weeks it was back to the real world.... unfortunately.

On the road again...enjoying life to the fullest - World-traveller Shan's travel blog
(Added: 4-Sep-2004 Hits: 362 Rating: 8.00 Votes: 1) Rate It

(no subject)
Greetings from Edinburgh...
I haven't posted in a while but man, there's been nothing to post about. We finished off a very rowdy week in Nice. Lots of wine, beach and fun--headed to Paris and had very high expectations. They were not fufilled. I think I am so sick of sightseeing that even things that are wonders of the world are not doing it for me anymore. We were so happy to leave Paris behind this past Sunday. We flew into Glascow/Preswick airport in the morning and caught an early afternoon train to Edinburgh. The hostel in Edinburgh was fantastic. Best thing was english big ol' tv. I watched Olympics and chilled. The room filled up with people and we all stayed up late watching Simpsons, Friends, The Sopranos and much more. It was fun. Yesterday, Ashley left for a tour of Scotland while I decided to kick it in Edinburgh. After a small drama attack, I found my Uncle Dave who is here with his girlfriend, Susan from Toronto. She is a native Edinburghian (?) so they rushed to pick me up and informed me that Dave and Susan's brother, Mike were going out for drinks. After my long day, I gladly accepted the invite. We started off at a bar called Beluga. Very quiet, modern bar...no pumping music. We had a couple of beer and decided to continue on. We stopped at a bar called Frankensteins and it was incredible. It was a Rocky Horror Picture Show themed night and all the staff were dressed up and it was hilarious. They would jump on the bar and sing songs from the movie. The movie was being shown on huge screens and it was packed. It was great. We had a few more beer and continued on to a shooter bar called Bar Kohl. It was really cool. Mike and Dave decided to try a flaming drink called fireball (so not the same as home) and we continued on with the beer. At one point, the guys got up and returned with more beer and a crazy shooter of Absinthe, Black Sambuca and something else and that was the end of me. A quick trip to the bathroom to refresh myself and bowing to the porcelain gods and I was back in the game. I stayed at Mike's because he had an extra bed and we slept in until almost 11. It was so nice. After Susan's parents made a huge breakfast for us -- I scurried along to town and now I am waiting for Ms. Tash MacKinnon. I cannot wait to gossip. Home in 6 days!
Shan
(no subject)
Greetings from Edinburgh...
I haven't posted in a while but man, there's been nothing to post about. We finished off a very rowdy week in Nice. Lots of wine, beach and fun--headed to Paris and had very high expectations. They were not fufilled. I think I am so sick of sightseeing that even things that are wonders of the world are not doing it for me anymore. We were so happy to leave Paris behind this past Sunday. We flew into Glascow/Preswick airport in the morning and caught an early afternoon train to Edinburgh. The hostel in Edinburgh was fantastic. Best thing was english big ol' tv. I watched Olympics and chilled. The room filled up with people and we all stayed up late watching Simpsons, Friends, The Sopranos and much more. It was fun. Yesterday, Ashley left for a tour of Scotland while I decided to kick it in Edinburgh. After a small drama attack, I found my Uncle Dave who is here with his girlfriend, Susan from Toronto. She is a native Edinburghian (?) so they rushed to pick me up and informed me that Dave and Susan's brother, Mike were going out for drinks. After my long day, I gladly accepted the invite. We started off at a bar called Beluga. Very quiet, modern bar...no pumping music. We had a couple of beer and decided to continue on. We stopped at a bar called Frankensteins and it was incredible. It was a Rocky Horror Picture Show themed night and all the staff were dressed up and it was hilarious. They would jump on the bar and sing songs from the movie. The movie was being shown on huge screens and it was packed. It was great. We had a few more beer and continued on to a shooter bar called Bar Kohl. It was really cool. Mike and Dave decided to try a flaming drink called fireball (so not the same as home) and we continued on with the beer. At one point, the guys got up and returned with more beer and a crazy shooter of Absinthe, Black Sambuca and something else and that was the end of me. A quick trip to the bathroom to refresh myself and bowing to the porcelain gods and I was back in the game. I stayed at Mike's because he had an extra bed and we slept in until almost 11. It was so nice. After Susan's parents made a huge breakfast for us -- I scurried along to town and now I am waiting for Ms. Tash MacKinnon. I cannot wait to gossip. Home in 6 days!
Shan
(no subject)
bonjour! i am on a horrible keyboard so excuse the bad punctuation. well i am supposed to be in venice right now but after multiple horrid situations we abadoned italy for the beaches of the cote azur--a.k.a Nice. Let me just say it has been nice. hahaha! I've been homesick lately so all of your emails are appreciated. Gotta run. Shan :)
(no subject)
Bonjourno!!

Live from Rome, Italy--
We have been seeing all the sights and spending our evenings relaxing our poor feet. Tonight will be a different story as a bunch of us from Freedom Traveller Hostel are going to see SIMON AND GARFUNKEL...live at the Colloseum. It should be absolutely incredible. I cannot wait to hear real music that I know that isn't techno shit. I'm gonna make a sign indicating the Canadian presence and hopefully get noticed (in the million people crowd)! Tommorow we are going to Pisa and Florence and then on Tuesday to Venice until the weekend.
Shan
(no subject)

Hey all--
I'm here in Gryon Switzerland packing up once again with the intention of going to Rome tonight. Gryon has been a blast. I can't wait to show everyone pictures and I can't wait to tell everyone how we're all going to come here next summer. Gotta run...
Shan

Rock and Pool is Nice and Cool (Ash Dunsford) - Ashley Dunsford (Iridescent Spoke's daughter) is on the road (Saskatoon, Calgary, Vancouver, and New Zealand
(Added: 19-Jan-2007 Hits: 128 Rating: 0 Votes: 0) Rate It

Gettin? er Done
Well holy friggin? crap. I have 12 days left in the land of the long white cloud. I arrived back in Raglan on New Year?s Eve and was immediately greeted by familiar faces and friends from my last time here and acquainted myself with all the new faces as well ...
Homeless, Carless, and Guitarless
It?s my last night in Fox. My car and guitar have been sold I spent the day packing the past 11 months of my life back into 2 bags. One really does collect a lot of things when you have a car. It?s like your hermit shell. Your traveling house. ...
Random Acts of Extremism
I woke up this morning and I knew the sun was shining before I even drew my curtains. It was one of my days off from work and since it rains in Fox A LOT, I deemed myself more than lucky. I don?t know why the thought came over me ...
Gone Fishin?
Well, I?ve been out fishing today. I am getting a real taste of Kiwi lifestyle here in Fox Glacier. When the closest bigger town is 2 and half hours away, you live much differently. The barter system is still a form of payment here in a lot of cases. The ...
A Whole Sort of General Mish Mash
Well, here I sit in this small town of Akaroa a little hungry as a neglected to make it to the Four Square grocery market before 6pm. The whole town pretty much closes at 6pm. Most towns in NZ close at 6pm. So what did I eat for dinner you ...

The Andean Adventure: Dave and Lisa in South America - A log of our two month trip around Peru, Bolivia and Chile from April 27-June 27 2006.
(Added: 9-Jul-2006 Hits: 204 Rating: 0 Votes: 0) Rate It

Ancient Desert Civilizations: Nasca, Peru
About 400km South of Lima, just outside the town of Nasca, in the middle of the massive coastal desert are some of the most bizzare and mysterious evidences of ancient cultures in the world. All over the desert floor, massive etchings - monkey, humming birds, dogs, people, condors, lizards and more have been carved into the sand and rock. No ones exactly sure when they got there - sometime in the 4th-6th century most people recon. But what´s even more odd is how or why they got there. These designs are huge, so big that you can´t see them from the ground. Why would someone take all that time to make desert art that they can´t even see? Some say it was an offering to the gods, some say it was to encourage rain, and some say that it wasn´t humans at all but maybe aliens. Who knows really? I have to confess that from ground level, we didn´t really get a good view of the lines which was too bad. From reports from other travellers, the $50 flight to see them from above didn´t seem worth it, so we were content viewing the lines from the ground and imagining (with the help of photos) what they might look like from above. But either way, there was still lots to check out on the ground.
Outside of Nasca, also in the middle of the desert (really that´s all there is) is another odd reminder of days gone by. Scattered throughout the ground are countless graves, buried as much as 2300 years ago, and well preserved by the desert heat. Though most of the graves, known as the Chauchilla Cemetery, have been robbed over time by looters looking for gold and jewlery buried with the dead, it is still an eery place, with open graves of half mummified bodies, pottery, and scattered clothes all over the place. In recent years archealogists have been busy preserving the graves, restoring them to their origanal positions, and covering over many that have been left open by the looters. Now you have the opportunity so witness ancient burial practises as they may have been done (if that´s you sort of thing). However, even with 12 nicely preserved graves, there are still shards of bones and clothes all over the grounds which makes for a really bizzare sight.
So that was pretty much the final stop on our South American tour. Yesterday we headed a 7 hour, though relatively painless bus up to Lima, and here we are waiting for our flight that is only 14 hours away...
A Little Taste of Europe: Arequipa, Peru
Our last few days have been spent in the most unlikely of cities. Arequipa, Peru´s second largest city, lies in the South of Peru, not far from the Chilean border, and is surrounded by the Andes in all directions. The most imposing mountain looming over the center of the city is El Misti, the second largest volcano in the country. Being an important colonial center back in the 16th century, it still today retains a distinctly Spanish feeling, and with massive cathedrals, historical monastaries, colonial buildings, a modern and cosmopolitan atmostphere, it was a nice little taste of a tropical Europe. For us it was also our last major stop in our South American tour and so was a great place to enjoy our last few days. Our days were spent strolling around the busy yellow cab filled streets, doing some shopping, hanging out at cafes on the plaza over-looking the cathedral and the distant mountains, and admiring some great architecture.

The highlight for me though was one of the most interesting historical sites that I´ve ever visted and surely one of my favorite days in South America. The site was the Santa Catalina Monastary, a small haven of peace and quite amongst the busy city streets. Back in 1580, when the Spanish were flexing their muscles on the continent, they felt the need to spread their religion to all corners of the globe. In the prosses they set up countless monastaries, many of which ended up in Arequipa. The Santa Catalina Monastary became a convent for wealthy Spanish families and for 400 years was a place where hundreds of nuns at a time lived in seclusion. It also received great notoriety as being a little unorthodox in their spiritual practises, as the wealthy nuns had many slaves, held parties with music, and basically lived it up. It wasn´t until the late 19th century that the Bishop was called in to straighten things up and enforce a little more Christian order in the convent. But the nuns, whatever lifestyle they lived, continued to do it in complete suclusion, and it wasn´t until 1970 that anyone from the outside was allowed in. At that point, the government opened it up to tourism and the remaining few nuns were pushed into a small corner of the complex. Today, as they live their devoted lives, most of the massive complex, a city unto itself, is restored to its 16th century style, and is open to the public to wander at leisure. With its quiet colorful alleyways, sparsely furnished stone chambers, orange tree filled courtyards, and bizzarly Escheresque architecture (with stairways to nowhere), it´s one of those places that make you wish for a few minutes that the modern world doesn´t exist. It was truly a great experience.
After spending 3 or so days in Arequipa, we headed on a nightbus to Nazca, and town a few hours South of Lima, famous for its bizzare and mysterious ancient drawing on the desert floor. It´s also a sight for ancient burial grounds, something we plan to check out as our last stop before heading home....
Hiking with the Condors: Colca Canyon, Peru

Well, here we are back in Peru, and with mountains all around us, we naturally feel the need to climb in them. This time however, unlike any hike we´ve done, we climbed down.
The hike was in a place called the Colca Canyon, a place famous for two things - hoards of condors, and being the deepest canyon in the world. They are proud of that claim, however, don´t tell the Chinese that, since they seem to think the title belongs to Tiger Leaping Gorge on the Yangtze. But the deepest or not, it was a pretty spectacular place.
The hike itself was simple enough - we went down, and we came back up. Going down was all good, and our night in the small village perched precariously on the side of the mountain was great (see the bottom pic). On the second day we spent a lazy few hours swimming in a pool filled with spring water, attempting to forget the fact that we´ve just voluntarily dropped ourselves into the bottom of the deepest canyon - with only one way out. Yup, what goes down must come up (well, in the hiking world anyway), and so eventually we had to face the music and walk back up. Now, I would generally consider myself a fairly strong climber, and after hiking in almost every major range in the world over the last few years, I am no stranger to a good verticle. But I have to admit that this gorge absolutly kicked my ass. In the intense heat of the midday sun, it was proabably the most challenging hike I´ve done, and 24 hours later I´m still suffering. Marla - where are you when I need a good masseuse. I´m sure Lisa would like me to confess that with a little more ambition than me, she reached the top a full 25 minutes before my lazy beer belly. But those petty little details aren´t important are they.
Today, after resting our sore muscles we hoped on the bus for the 6 hour ride back to Arequipa. Along the way we stopped at a lookout point where hundreds of massive condors (eagle like birds) can be seen soaring around the canyon. Of course, being the middle of winter, there are no condors - something the travel agencies conveniently forget to mention to you when upselling their tour. However, we were lucky enough to spot a couple so at least I can say we´ve seen them.
Now we are back in Arequipa, and with only a week left before our flight from Lima, we are wondering what to do next. Volcano biking maybe, exploring some ancient civilizations, shopping?....
Sand and Sea: Northern Chile

Well, after freezing our asses off in the mountains for the last month or so, finally, we made it to the ocean. We came down from San Pedro on a night bus to the town of Iquique. It´s a bit of a tourist trap, being famous for duty free good, glitzy casinos, and Miami style beaches. Kind of reminds me a bit of Brighton in England. The town retains much of the Georgian and Victorian architecture of the 19th century and with a nice wooden boardwalk through the town and along the beach, it made for a great place to relax for a couple days.
After a couple days though, with our destination goal of Peru, we were ready to keep heading North and so after a half a day on a bus going through the never ending colorless desert, we finally arrived in the town of Arica, another beach resort on the border. The town itself really wasn´t anything to write home about (which is ironic, since that´s exactly what I´m doing), and since it is the dead of winter, no one was on the beach, but we found a great hostel near the beach and run by a friendly Kiwi, so we were happy doing nothing for a couple days. But since prices in Chile are several times what they are in the rest of the continent, our time in the country had to come to an end pretty quicky, so we were off to Peru once again. The border was fine - 5 of us packed into a 20 year old taxi, which had to be hot wired to get going, and getting searched for all those bags of cocaine that we might be smuggling. We got a flat tire at the border, which is just one of those little delays that you might expect once back on the Peruvian side. But we were back to the land of cheap food and friendly people, so we were happy to be back.
All in all, I would have to say I was rather disappointed with Chile. Of course I say this having visited only a handful of places in the very North of the region. I realise that a country spanning from the tropics to Antartica has far more to offer than the region I seen, and someday I´m sure I will give it another chance by visiting the moutains of the South. But, if I am honest in my opinion, I have to admit to having little positive to say about the Chilean people. Of course we have met some great people, and the odd person on the street even smiled once in a while. However, as the 40th country that I´ve visited in the last 5 years, it was far and away the most unwelcoming yet. We had heard before coming into the country that many of the locals, paritularly in the traditional desert North, are rather sceptical about the influence of the tourism on their culture, and in many way hold a contempt for foreigners. Unfortunatly, this was exactly how we felt, and it was rare that we came across locals who seemed comfortable with our presence. It was rather frustrating, since the North seemed to have many things interesting to offer.
So as you can imagine, we were happy to return to Peru. We are now in a town called Arequipa, yet another beautiful town steeped in colonial history, cathedrals, and distant volcanoes. It´s one of our final stops before we head home in 10 days so we got lots to see and some hiking to do....
Valley of the Moon: San Pedro de Atacama, Chile

Well, here we are in Chile, after crossing the border from the middle of nowhere in Bolivia. What a difference an imaginary line in the dirt makes!! Checking out of Bolivia was high up in the mountain in a small delapitated shack with Playboy posters on the wall to entertain the men who see only 30 people passing through a day. Entering Chile however, we pulled onto some nice fresh pavement which we haven´t seen in a week or so, and the border gaurds wore actual uniforms and scanned our passports on a working computer!!! That was the first sign that we were now in a fully developed country who like to distance themselves from the surrounding 3rd-World nations. Everything seemed different here - the streets are clean and quiet, hotel rooms have hot water, people dress like the West, restaurants are expensive, and cars stop at traffic lights. For some reason it all suprised me. When you think South America you think jungles and under developed countries. But for some reason I tend to forget that some nations like Argentina and Chile were setteled in the same way as Canada - only by Spain rather than England. The towns here seem rather like Moncton, only with a Latin flavour.
The first town we came to however, was San Pedro, a small oasis town in the middle of the driest desert in the world, the Atacama. Our days were spent renting bikes and cruising around the desert and to a region known at the ¨Valley of the Moon¨. From the pics you can see why it´s called that - its barren, rocky, and looks like another planet. Watching the sunset and the full moon rising in sync over the distant volcanoes as the sun changed the sand and salt various shades of blue, purple, yellow and red was a great experience, despite the screaming group of about 30 Chilean schoolgirls.

After getting our share of desert landscapes and freezing cold nights (it´s been a month in the mountains now), we decided it was time to get to the coast to warm up. So off we went on a night bus to Iquique, a glitzy beach town famous casinos and duty free shopping popular with Chilean tourist and suprisingly devoid of foreign backpackers. Of course it´s the middle of winter here, so it´s not quite beach weather, but 20 degrees is a pleasant change. Some beach pics to come soon......

Two chicks and a blog - Andrea Macdonald is an original singer/songwriter embarking on her first cross-Canada solo tour, self-managed and self-promoted. Maureen Chandler is a spunky photographer/videographer anxious to get back into the film scene, and will be making a documentary of their trip.
(Added: 15-Feb-2007 Hits: 142 Rating: 0 Votes: 0) Rate It

Documentary on hold . . .
. . . at least until I get back home. I've decided to spend the summer in The Rockies - there's a job waiting for me out there, and I haven't been able to find one here at home. So, I'm gonna take off on another road trip, save a bit of cash, book a tour home in October and start editing the film with a fresh outlook on music, life and travel. I may even bring a camera with me and film some supplementary footage on my own.

Of course, this means that the film's debut will be pushed back as well - I'm optomistically hoping for a "Christmas-time" unveiling . . . but that might turn into a "New Year" showing. We'll see. All I know is that PEI is not the right place for me right now, and I must go.

Let's hope that good ol' Doris has one more long trip in her. :)

Andrea
Clothes Make The Man
Four awesome guys from Toronto came to visit us and play a gig at Brennan's last week. We managed to sit them down, and have a little conversation about music and touring and money and all that stuff. They were funny and great, I only wish I was better at interviewing . . .

And they put on a kick-ass show at Brennan's that night, during which between 5 and 15 people showed up for. Sucky.

I had a good time, though. :) It was sort of like a private show . . .

More interviews to come . . . and then the sorting through the footage.

Drea
Montreal to PEI
The wine and pasta in Montreal was great. While we were too tired to head downtown to see Lisa's percussion group play (sorry Lisa!) and too late by the time we finished eating, we did head around the corner to a little pub for some more wine, and hit the hay in the early morning hours.

We awoke the next morning and hit the road shortly before noon. We arrived in Edmonston around 6 or 7pm. I called up my sister Jean in Miramichi, and we started on the terrible terrible road from Plaster Rock to there. I don't understand how people were driving so fast on it. I averaged about 60 km per hour the whole way, and we were still bouncing around. FIX YOUR ROADS NEW BRUNSWICK!

So what we figured would be a 2 and a half-hour drive turned into a 3 hour drive, but it felt more like 4 hours. But we got there, and slept well. I got up early to chat with my neices before they headed off to school, and shower. We eventually left Miramichi around 10am and got home to PEI around 1pm. The roads were heavenly after the Plaster Rock Road night-time horror.

I drove almost straight out to mom and dad's for the night, and slept quite well. I'm back in Charlottetown now, and it feels wierd. Sort of like I've just had one crazy long dream. :)

Drea
(no subject)
in montreal, drinking wine, pasta in the midst of creation. this is good.

ottawa was amazing. i love that city. it was SO good to see alex and jeremy again. and just as good to meet michelle and tema. i'm sad our stay was so short, but perhaps it is best it was, and have left on such a high note.

almost home...
Driving and driving and driving . . .
After a day of driving around the Rockies we eventually left Canmore, AB, around 9pm on Monday night to start the drive toward Ottawa, with the intention of getting there sometime before Friday night for the show with Alex and Neil.

That night, I drove until around 1:30am when we arrived in Medecine Hat, AB. It was windy and rainy. Lovely driving conditions. We then parked Doris behind a 24-hr Shell station and slept for a few hours. At around 6am I got up and went inside to have a greasy breakfast and down some coffee. Then we started driving again, and made it to Winnipeg around 7pm that night. We had dinner with Roddy and Judy, and then slept, awaking to the wonderful sound of Moe's cellphone alarm around 7am. We started driving again, and drove and drove and drove until we were somewhere in the rocky hills of Northern Ontario and I was getting sleepy. We pulled into a funny little motel in a tiny village called Shreiber, or something like that. We drank some wine, watched some Lost and I fell asleep shortly after. We got up early again the next day and left around 8:00, hoping to make it to Ottawa that night. We almost made it. We drove and drove and drove and then ran into wet snow and slush. After we passed North Bay it got worse and worse until we had to pull over, a few hours away from Ottawa, close to Deep River. We found a cheapy hotel and checked in.

This hotel was awesome in it's funkiness. The TV was straight out of 1981, UHF, probably a 13 inch screen. There were 70's patterned patches on the walls, and the carpet was also circa 1978, I believe. There were no phones in the rooms, and definitly no wireless internet connection. We had some snacks and watched the two channels we received, and then passed out.

Friday we slept in for the first time in a long time. We didn't leave the motel until around noon, it was awesome. We arrived in Ottawa a few hours later, and found Alex and Jeremy and his friend Tema downtown. Then we ate, and then we rocked! The show at Cafe Nostalgica was packed and a good time was had by all. Our friend Rozalind MacPhail came by to jam out some flute tunes with us, and Alex and Neil and Steve surprised me by learning one of my songs off myspace to play with me - So Tired. It was pretty damned cool.

Today we're heading back to Montreal to see our friend Lisa Shalom play with her percussion group somewhere downtown - it's going to be interesting to see if we can actually find it. :)

So here we are, almost home, almost out of money . . . and so glad to be around old friends!

See yas all soon,
Drea

p.s. I'm going to be opening for Air Traffic Control at Baba's on May 10th. Be there!

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On the road again...enjoying life to the fullest - World-traveller Shan's travel blog
(Added: 4-Sep-2004 Hits: 362 Rating: 8.00 Votes: 1) Rate It

Rock and Pool is Nice and Cool (Ash Dunsford) - Ashley Dunsford (Iridescent Spoke's daughter) is on the road (Saskatoon, Calgary, Vancouver, and New Zealand
(Added: 19-Jan-2007 Hits: 128 Rating: 0 Votes: 0) Rate It

The Andean Adventure: Dave and Lisa in South America - A log of our two month trip around Peru, Bolivia and Chile from April 27-June 27 2006.
(Added: 9-Jul-2006 Hits: 204 Rating: 0 Votes: 0) Rate It

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PEI Gov't IslandCam

Blogstream of selected recently-updated blogs:

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Photo of the day from Eastern Kings

PEIBlogs.com: the definitive Prince Edward Island blogroll since 2004.: Travel

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A View from North Cape - A new blog dedicated to pictures, history and information about North Cape PEI and its attractions. (Added: 5-Aug-2008 Hits: 28 Rating: 0 Votes: 0) Rate It

Adventurous You - Outdoor Adventures Around Prince Edward Island. From Andy Raynor. (Added: 7-Jan-2008 Hits: 62 Rating: 0 Votes: 0) Rate It

CEOBlues Travel - Reviews of places we've been....honest... Welcome to CEOBlues Travel. This is going to be the place where we (Becky and Dan James) post our thoughts, experiences, and reviews of our travels. (Added: 1-Jul-2005 Hits: 346 Rating: 8.00 Votes: 1) Rate It

Craig's Vacation Pics - Craiger is from Charlottetown. (Added: 14-Aug-2006 Hits: 228 Rating: 0 Votes: 0) Rate It

London :: 2006 - Andrea's (www.kuhlschrank.com) second adventure in London - June 2-18, 2006. (Added: 24-Jun-2006 Hits: 214 Rating: 0 Votes: 0) Rate It

MacClure's Photos - Travel photos by Shane MacClure (also filed in Photos section) (Added: 16-Apr-2006 Hits: 153 Rating: 0 Votes: 0) Rate It

My Euro Trek - A chronicle of preparations for a 3-month trip to Europe (Added: 2-Jun-2006 Hits: 204 Rating: 0 Votes: 0) Rate It

On the road again...enjoying life to the fullest - World-traveller Shan's travel blog (Added: 4-Sep-2004 Hits: 362 Rating: 8.00 Votes: 1) Rate It

Rock and Pool is Nice and Cool (Ash Dunsford) - Ashley Dunsford (Iridescent Spoke's daughter) is on the road (Saskatoon, Calgary, Vancouver, and New Zealand (Added: 19-Jan-2007 Hits: 128 Rating: 0 Votes: 0) Rate It

The Andean Adventure: Dave and Lisa in South America - A log of our two month trip around Peru, Bolivia and Chile from April 27-June 27 2006. (Added: 9-Jul-2006 Hits: 204 Rating: 0 Votes: 0) Rate It

Search, Recommend

Weather, Tides, Travel

PEI Gov't IslandCam

Blogstream of selected recently-updated blogs:

News

Photo of the day from Eastern Kings

A View from North Cape - A new blog dedicated to pictures, history and information about North Cape PEI and its attractions.
(Added: 5-Aug-2008 Hits: 28 Rating: 0 Votes: 0) Rate It

Adventurous You - Outdoor Adventures Around Prince Edward Island. From Andy Raynor.
(Added: 7-Jan-2008 Hits: 62 Rating: 0 Votes: 0) Rate It

CEOBlues Travel - Reviews of places we've been....honest... Welcome to CEOBlues Travel. This is going to be the place where we (Becky and Dan James) post our thoughts, experiences, and reviews of our travels.
(Added: 1-Jul-2005 Hits: 346 Rating: 8.00 Votes: 1) Rate It

Craig's Vacation Pics - Craiger is from Charlottetown.
(Added: 14-Aug-2006 Hits: 228 Rating: 0 Votes: 0) Rate It

London :: 2006 - Andrea's (www.kuhlschrank.com) second adventure in London - June 2-18, 2006.
(Added: 24-Jun-2006 Hits: 214 Rating: 0 Votes: 0) Rate It

MacClure's Photos - Travel photos by Shane MacClure (also filed in Photos section)
(Added: 16-Apr-2006 Hits: 153 Rating: 0 Votes: 0) Rate It

My Euro Trek - A chronicle of preparations for a 3-month trip to Europe
(Added: 2-Jun-2006 Hits: 204 Rating: 0 Votes: 0) Rate It

On the road again...enjoying life to the fullest - World-traveller Shan's travel blog
(Added: 4-Sep-2004 Hits: 362 Rating: 8.00 Votes: 1) Rate It

Rock and Pool is Nice and Cool (Ash Dunsford) - Ashley Dunsford (Iridescent Spoke's daughter) is on the road (Saskatoon, Calgary, Vancouver, and New Zealand
(Added: 19-Jan-2007 Hits: 128 Rating: 0 Votes: 0) Rate It

The Andean Adventure: Dave and Lisa in South America - A log of our two month trip around Peru, Bolivia and Chile from April 27-June 27 2006.
(Added: 9-Jul-2006 Hits: 204 Rating: 0 Votes: 0) Rate It