St. Martins, NB

Well, let's see. I left off in Lunenburg on Saturday, so let's catch ya'll up on the last 3 days. Sunday morning we got up and moved to the Oakhill Pines Campground in Bridgewater, about 12 miles from Lunenburg. We stopped in Mahone Bay on the way and did a little shopping, mostly at Amos Pewter. Pewter is a big thing in Nova Scotia and Amos is one of the very best. They had so many beautiful pieces. It took forever for us to decide what we wanted to buy! I got a penguin necklace and matching earrings as well as a little cat figurine. My aunt Susan also got me a penguin ornament for my Christmas tree, which was very sweet of her.

From Mahone Bay we went on to Bridgewater, got settled at the campground and then used the rental car to shuttle over to Uncle Ivan and Aunt Shirley's house. Ivan is my father's mother's youngest brother and the one Rodenhiser sibling still living. He turned 80 in April and Shirley just turned 78 in June and they are shap as tacks and the cutest things ever. I had apparently met them once before, at my Nana's funeral, but I was 7, so I really don't remember. Ivan took Dad, Joan and I over to the Bridgewater cemetary and we saw the graves for Uncle Valson, Aunt Olive and Uncle Barney and my great-grandparents, Morris & Eva Ann Rodenhiser. There were also the graves of another uncle and an aunt, both of whom died very young. It seems like it should be creepy, but it was kind of neat. There were Rodenhisers, Hirtles and Conrads all over the cemetary - probably half the people in town are 3rd cousins or something.

When we got back to Ivan and Shirley's, dad's cousin Jo-Anne, her husband Alan and her daughter Alexis were there. Alexis is 16 and plays hockey on the girls' team. She seemed like a really good kid. Shirley made us a fantastic dinner and there was delicious strawberry shortcake for dessert. After dinner, most of us drove outside of town to see Jo-Anne and Alan's new house on the lake, which is not quite complete, but is going to be an amazing home. They have a great view from their back deck!

Monday was a nice restful day - Joan flew home to Toronto, so Susan and Pat were gone most of the mid-day driving her to the airport in Halifax. While they were gone, mom got some laundry done and we all just kinda vegged. When Pat & Susan returned, we went back to the cemetary and also to the Bridgewater veterans memorial, which has my grandfather's name on it.

Then we went grocery shopping and went a little crazy buying candy that we can't get in the States - Bounty and Coffee Crisp and Smarties and dark chocolate KitKats (yes, I found them!). Dad got to buy real Canadian bacon to have for breakfast and it was delicious this morning with scrambled eggs. I was also excited to find dill pickle Lay's chips - we don't seem to sell them at home anymore.

Then we had dinner at the A&W, which, as far as fast food joints go, wasn't so great, but it was fun to eat somewhere new and get your root beer in a frosted mug!

We went back to visit with Ivan and Shirley briefly and then stopped by Jo-Anne and Alan's house in town and met their sons, Cale & Ryland. Cale is 22 or 23, I think, and just finished university and Ryland is 19. Both were very nice, polite boys.

We said our goodbyes at the campground this morning and Ivan and Shirley surprised us by showing up to say goodbye as well. We then started the long trip home, heading west to New Brunswick. We spent a fortune at the Nova Scotia welcome center shop and we are now camped on the Bay of Funday in St. Martins, NB. We are literally on the bay - it's just a short walk to the shore.

I've been surprised by how very French it is in NB - all my previous visits here have always been to Ontario, which is pretty solidly English. My impression was always that it was pretty exclusively Quebec that was French, but apparently that's not quite the case. But, that's what traveling is for, right - to learn new things.

Tomorrow we get back in the States and spend a couple days in Maine. Can't wait to get to L.L.Bean! :)