Archive for the ‘vaycay’ Category:
7 Meals of Turkey Since our Last Post
Today’s transit was relatively painless. No screaming children, no delays, no lost luggage. We made it back to Toronto from our trip home to Pasadena relatively unharmed.
Our week was full of dancing, friends, family (yea for grandparent visits) and turkey. Lots of turkey. My mom should have a blog, then she could tell you about the turkey. . .
While significantly less productive than originally intended (ie. no school or wedding or fitness work got done), the week was a good reminder of what our priorities really are as we made special efforts to spend time with the people we love. Leaving was difficult. I may or may not have cried 1/2 the way to Halifax. There are a lot of things I like about living in Toronto, but I certainly wish my family and friends were closer.
Oddly enough though I turned my back for a second at the baggage claim in Toronto and Tom had already met and made friends with somebody from Newfoundland.
They’re be more to come in the next few days, but we just wanted everyone to know we made it.
Subscribe to the comments for this postToronto? Where’s that? Who’d want to live there?
After an unnecessarily long time sitting on a plane and then a relatively short flying time I (and my luggage) made it in to Deer Lake airport safe and sound Tuesday evening. Sis was there to pick me up and she drove us home as I hung on to the cupholder and door handle for dear life. Apparently not being in the front seat of a car for 6 months throws off your perception. She did indulge me with some transit noises though which I really appreciated.
I spent Tuesday night getting re-acclimatized to here. I spent a lot of time just looking at things. The objects here are much more comforting than the ones in our apartment. Everything seems to have several memories attached to it. Even if it was just getting a tea bag. I remember when we got the tea canister, I remember having to fill it up, I remember making countless cups of tea when I was happy, sad, studying. I’m hyper-aware of things like that. I also went for a night time walk/run to make up for all the sitting and clear my head.
On Wednesday I decided, for the first time in over a year, to take the day off. I didn’t let myself feel pressured to do anything and ended up going for a huge walk around town, and unpacking. I barely talked to anyone. This whole idea of a break is wonderful.
By Thursday though I was getting a little lonely. Luckily my bestest friends had just returned home from a vaycay and were more than happy to laze around with me and all day, feed me supper, and laugh at the silly things I say. It was so nice to be able to hear what’s being going on in their lives (as phone calls don’t seem to to it justice) and just generally hang out with people who “get” me.
We saw Harry Potter that evening, and while it was a good movie and I did like it a lot, I still prefer the books. I was particularly upset with the way Dumbledore said “please.” It wasn’t ambiguous enough. I remember spending hours thinking about that “please” when I was waiting for the seventh book to come out. Oh my. I did like the movie though, and even though it was long, I didn’t get bored.
I’m excited to seeing more friends in the coming days and my mom and dad on Sunday and do some more of this relaxing thing before I start some research next week.
Vaycay Part Deux - A minibreak to the east coast
Rather than being left by my lonesome last weekend while Tom attended the big party, I opted to hitch a ride with friends to Trinity and St. John’s. Although I questioned my decision several times before I left, once we were on the road it was certainly worth it.
I realized a lot of things. Like - how much I love my friends, how much I love Tom, how much I miss being so close (physically) to my extended family, and how independent I can be if I put my mind to it, how much I enjoy that independence, how much I like food, and how culturally “asleep” Corner Brook is.
I had tons of fun adventures on my trip. The drive there was fun and I enjoyed the company of my friends, even though it was a thunder and lightning storm almost the entire way. In Trinity I went for boat ride and got quite soggy, visited the shopping capital of the GTA (greater Trinity area) otherwise known as the “Midway,” ate some wonderful seafood chowder, drank some wine and had a lot of laughs, and wore matching denim without guilt.
Once in St. John’s I got to eat some Indian food (one of my favourites), rush downtown to take a ballet class (which I sucked in, but really enjoyed and wished I got to do more of), spend time with my Aunt (who I am so grateful to for driving me everywhere, sharing her thoughts with me, and taking me out for Greek food), do some good downtown and thrift store shopping, meet up with Tom for an hour, and spend more time laughing with my friends.
After a whirlwind few days, on Sunday we headed home. I think if I had packed more clothes I would have stayed in town for the rest of the summer - strangely, I’m much more comfortable and less anxious there. But, I did have to come home and the drive was long, though not unpleasant.
Vaycay Day Two - I almost died
Waking up in Trinity was nice. I slept well. That morning Tom and I went for a walk along the old railway track in Trinity East. I really enjoyed it. The walk went through rocks, through trees, near a surprise waterfall and along the shoreline. It was quite comfortable. I like being by the water. It’s a safe and familiar feeling. I like the way the air feels and smells when you are by salt water. I saw some really awesome crab and sea urchin shells. You don’t see many of those in Pasadena. It’s weird, I still haven’t developed an attachment to that “place,” I felt far more at home in Trinity, and that’s the first time I’ve ever been there. I think it has to do with being by the water. I’m nervous about moving so far inland. Everyone keeps telling me that Toronto is right by a bunch of big lakes, but lakes are not the ocean.
As we headed back from our walk I almost died. I almost fell through a rotted bridge a zillion fee into the ocean. It was frightening. Tom laughed. If you are lucky he will post a picture to show you the trauma though.
After cleaning up from our walk we headed back to the restaurant for lunch. I had pea soup and stole some of Tom’s fries. It was wonderful. (btw- Tom would gain 50 pounds if I stopped “tasting” his snacks. I do it for his own good). Soon Amy gave us a wonderful tour of Trinity. She knew all the history and the gossip so it was fun. I love the old houses. It’s the same type of comforting feeling that comes from being near the water.
We left Trinity mid-afternoon and headed towards Grandma and Poppy’s cabin. The drive back out the the highway was nice and we finished our episode of Muggle cast. We stopped in Clarenville to stretch and pee. Vent- stopping in all these public bathrooms lately I am disgusted at the amount of people who don’t wash their hands, or consider sticking their hands under cold water with no soap for 2 seconds washing. Gross. I have a very high tech routine for public washroom hand washing and am actually creeped out by these people who watch me do this, and then smile as they run their hands under the cold water and leave. Eww.
Anyway, we made it to the cabin, which is surprising since I gave the directions from childhood memories. We got to pass by the big horse on the hill. Tom was a little creeped out. I was nostalgic. We got to the cabin by supper time and had a wonderful meal and chat with Grandma and Poppy before heading into town. It poured. Crazy hard straight down rain the whole way. Eventually we made it safely to Grandma and Poppy’s apartment where we are staying. Our cup of tea that night was well needed!
Vaycay Day One, New Experiences in Newfoundland
On June 14th we left on our trip. The CBC kept us company for most of the drive. We found our way to the turnoff to Trinity/Bonavista and drove down the highway - a beautiful drive complimented by MuggleCast and lots of laughs. So, eventually we get to a road sign saying take the next exit to get to Trinity. Since we had originally planned to meet the crew at DockMarina, I figured this was a safe route to take, but we paused on the road because Shannon called to tell us to head to the house. Tom tried to get directions from him while I, parked at the turnoff into the community of Trinity, tried to describe our location by screaming “we’re by a horse head” repeatedly and loudly. Due to Tom’s poor communication skills a poor cell phone connection something got confused and Shannon told us to go straight to end up at the house. So, instead of turning into Trinity, we kept going straight (well as straight as the long, windy, hilly, deteriorating road would allow) for over a half an hour. I was getting increasingly uneasy until the climax point when we literally reached the end of the road (which incidentally was someone’s back yard in Bonaventure - there may have been hideous lawn art, I was too anxious to notice). Alright, we’ll just call Amy or Shannon and they will tell us where to go. However, I must have been delusional from being tired and hungry from a long day of driving, because I forgot that in the middle of nowhere there is no cell service. I wondered what people did in ye olden day before cell phones.
We decide to turn around and head back. By this point I’m rather upset with Tom, as it was obviously his fault that got us into this mess. However, as upset as I was, I tried to look at the bright side of things thinking that if we ever do get found, it will make for a good story. Anyway, while I’m freaking out and Tom is taking pictures out the window and waiting for a cell signal, it is foggy and cold and there are no signs of life anywhere. We drive almost back where we started and stop at the only convienience store along the entire stretch of road to ask for directions. The clerk points us in the right direction and we turn down into Trinity at the intersection where this all began. At this point we get cell service and Shannon texts Tom asking him what he sees. Tom tells him we are right by the Royal Bank, and we keep driving down through Trinity.
The next thing I saw was the best thing ever. Amy and Shannon were running down the road and directing us where to go. I pull over and they come up to the car. I cried for the first time all day and they help me get to the Dock. Before I’m even all the way in the door Amy has a cup of tea for me. She knows me well. She took care of me. I contemplated breaking up with Tom because the situation was his fault attempted to forgive and forget the events of the past few hours and then took a moment to enjoy the company of friends, and admire the restaurant, and give Tom some nasty looks before we headed to “the house.” We made it there without too much problem, and I washed my face and put on some real people clothes (read: not sweatpants). The house was gorgeous and quaint. I love old houses!
After a brief rest we headed back to the restaurant for supper. It was wonderful. I had both pea soup and seafood chowder (perhaps the best I”ve ever had) and everyone else had delicious-looking meals as well. The food really pearked me up, and by dessert I was back to to normal Candice (as opposed to hungry Candice, who is mean and confused). We headed back to the house and played a rousing game of “quarter quarter” before bed. There was a lot of laughs.
The story really should end here but I’ll take it too far with another anecdote. After we went to bed I was paranoid that I didn’t pee enough and would have to go in the middle of the night and wake everyone or that I would pee in the bed. I couldn’t sleep so I went to pee again and then tucked back into bed. Then I had to pee. It was hilarious to me but I had to contain my laughter for fear that it would make me pee!