We are back....

We arrived home several hours ago from our friend's wedding. We left on Friday and went to Moncton, New Brunswick to do some shopping and then drove to Nova Scotia on Saturday. The drive to Moncton was spectacular. The Fall colours are breathtaking. Funny, someone on facebook told me to post lots of photos and I commented that my photo ops are dictated by the chauffeur. The reply back from a third party was 'get used to it and just point and shoot'. Well she doesn't have any idea how true that is. We took a bit of a detour because Ev is still looking for a vehicle for himself so we went to Bouctouche, NB to look at something he found. Since we didn't have the exact address, we finally had to pull over to consult the GPS and I was overjoyed that I had a brief photo op...except until the batteries on my camera died...after only 2 shots! We still haven't found our charger in our unpacking so I was out of luck until we could buy some new disposable ones.

Once we arrived in Moncton, it was all about shopping. Furniture mostly. And then we went right into downtown Moncton for dinner. I know I said it before, but I will reiterate, New Brunswick is amazingly beautiful. While my allegiance remains with PEI (and of course, BC) New Brunswick is one of the most spectacular places I have ever visited.

Friday late afternoon the rain started. And it poured and poured. When we got up Saturday, the rain continued. The entire drive from Moncton to Kentville, we could barely see the road and we commiserated for our friends on their special day.

On a side note here, the area that our friends got married in was the area we were meant to be transferred to originally so it was doubly exciting for us to see where we might have ended up. We even took a drive by the house that we had fallen in love with online and discovered, as is the disadvantage of looking at real estate online, that it was perched at the top of a very, very steep hill and the lot was much, much smaller than it appeared in the photos. Photography can be so tricky! It still warmed our hearts to see it in person. The other endearing thing we discovered in Kentville was that it goes by "Home of the Pumpkin People". There are Pumpkin People everywhere! Picture a scarecrow, of sorts, and replace the head with a pumpkin. Actually, most of them are dressed in normal street clothes and partaking in such things as soccer, curling, hockey, farming...you name it. Here are a couple of links:

http://www.novanewsnow.com/article-386952-Proliferation-of-Pumpkin-People-line-streets-of-Kentville.html

http://images.google.ca/images?hl=en&source=hp&q=kentville%20pumpkin%20people&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wi

It reminded me of when Ev & I drove to Tofino, where & when we got engaged. As we were driving through the Cathedral Forest there were all of these carved pumpkins hidden throughout the forest - behind trees, in trees, on rock cliffs - anywhere and everywhere.

Back to the wedding - as the day progressed, it continued to pour rain. The ceremony was to begin at 4:30 and even when we got into to car to drive out to the Berwick Heights Golf Club, it was still raining. But miracle of all miracles, as we arrived the rain stopped and while we waited for the ceremony to begin, the sky brightened!

Their ceremony and reception were both held at the Golf Club and let me tell you how absolutely amazing it was. The club sits high above the course so as the happy couple were saying their vows, you could see the magnificent fall colours showing in the distant background. The clubhouse was decorated in roses, lilies, cranberries, all complementing the surrounding landscape. How beautiful! I do have some pictures - by request I can't post any of the bride and groom, but I will of the background...in a bit...once I'm out of bed. I'll get to that later.

The evening was filled with a lot of laughter and love and just warmed your heart to be in the presence of two families that were so proud of their loved ones and shared in their happiness. What was a bit funny - since they both met up North - J worked with Ev and Christie is a nurse, there were very few people there that have had the honour to spend time with them as a couple. For a lot of those attending the wedding, it was the first time they'd met the other half of the couple, where Ev & I have spent many nights sitting around with them, having great chats and lots of laughs.

The food was magnificent as well. While they left to have their pictures taken, they served hors d'oeuvres. Prawns, smoked salmon provided by J's dad, Indian vegetables with tamarind sauce, roasted vegetables in pastry with goat cheese...num...num! Dinner was salmon baked on a plank, rib eye medallions with mushroom ragout, garlic mashed potatoes (not the ones out of the box like J loves). Dessert was a chocolate cheesecake with coconut and oatmeal crust served with fresh berries and a rum sauce. How could anyone top that? It was a fabulous evening and we would have stayed much longer if we didn't have the dogs sitting in the hotel room. We packed it in somewhere around 11pm.

As we started to walk to the car, I started feeling like a bit of a cold was coming on and it seemed to get worse as we drove the 25 minutes to the hotel. Throughout the night it continued to get worse. On top of that, my back has been giving me some issues. It has not been right for months but with all of the unpacking and moving, it has really been taking a beating and it has now decided to give out on me....combined with a somewhat stressful drive home today, I am now confined to bed with 4 pillows behind me and 2 under my legs.

The stress, you ask? Well, I am supposed to be the navigator but I do not live up to my mother's expertise. I plugged our address into the GPS and confirmed it was following the highway I wanted, as opposed to the back road we took through Nova Scotia. There is a difference between fastest and shortest route!

We both commented when we saw the sign for Pictou County which is where my Dad's family emmigrated to. It just didn't dawn on me at the time that this was not how we came into Nova Scotia...that is until I saw a sign that said PEI ferry....and then it was too late! My navigation skills had failed and instead of heading to the Confederation Bridge, we had driven to the ferry. Needless to say, the chauffeur was disappointed, at the least. Good news is that we just made the ferry crossing and literally drove right on without even putting the car into park. The crossing takes about 75 minutes. The only thing was that Ev went up above to smoke and I sat down below and overheard someone say we were on the ferry to Pictou Island - not PEI! How was I going to break this news to Ev who was already not my biggest fan. I approached, head hung low, back seizing with every passing minute and gave him the news and the disappointment was apparent. Not only had I completely failed my mother, I have failed my husband.

He headed inside to find an employee while I tried to find somewhere private so when he came back and I had a breakdown that no one would bear witness to it. I saw him chatting with the woman and then stoically approached me while I braced myself. "No.", he said. We are on the right ferry! Well thank God! But the tears still came. A different kind. Relief.

Unforunately, my back did not partake in the relief and seized as we drove home. Within 20 minutes of being home, I was lying on the floor with Ev attempting to stretch it, to no avail. I was hopelessly stuck on the floor with tears streaming down my face. Eventually, with his assistance, I was able to get to my feet and make it to the bed where I lie now...with Ernie snoring by my side, doped up on pain meds and muscle relaxants, 4 pillows behind me, 2 under my knees, an icepack on my back and my husband spoiling me rotten bringing me miso soup for dinner, hot chocolate for my stuffy head and now lying on the bed keeping me company. I guess he still loves me despite my bad navigational skills!