Day 1 - The Adventure of Arriving

Well, after a restless night of tossing and turning, I awoke at 5:30 a.m. to get up and ready for my trip to St. Andews, N.B.

Gerry's Mom came to pick us up and drop me off at the airport, aleady I had butterflies in my stomach. Can you imagine that this is the first time in 10 years that I go off on my own somewhere? Well, let me tell you, I was a little bit out of sorts.

My baggage ended up costing me $100.00 extra because it was overweight! OMG! I was on a super tight budget as it is having aleady spent over $2000,00 out of my own pocket for this trip as it is! Anyway, what was I to do - I needed everything that I brought - it wasn't like I was going to start unpacking at the check-in!

The flight was uneventful, a little bit of turbulence, but nothing dramatic. Arriving safe and sound in Saint-John, Barb & Peter were waiting for me just inside the doors with beautiful welcoming smiles! Peter lugged my suitcase for me chuckling as he asked, "Did you bring the kitchen sink with you?" LOL.

Well, off we went though beautiful St. John (did I mention how many trees there are - it is amazing!). Barb and Peter first brought me through a tour of the Microbiology lab that Barb works at and I got to see all the culture plates as well as the very tiny parasitology division at the St. John Hospital. It was great...it made me dream of the day when I will eventually have my own lab...eventually.

Then we had a quick bite to eat and were off on our road trip to St. Andrews. The scenery was simply amazing! And the fog got so thick at certain points that you could hardly make out any details. We stopped at various places for some pictures, the first a little site seeing off the Saint John lake where the paper mill is. There was a large flow of water through some rapids / falls and it was a famous place where the water reverses directions when the tides come in. I got some lovely shots of some huge Cormorant birds - they were spectacular.

Our next stop was an Atlantic Samon fishery where we were able to walk 2 beautiful trails and see some Salmon up close and personal. They are huge! There was some neat facts posted up about they life cycles as well as their changing morphologies from birth to adult. Did you know Salmon can see in color?!

After that nice stop we continued on to Saint Andrews were we drove down the main street, Water Drive, and checked out all the neat shops and cafes. The homes are simply amazing down here, all huge old mansions where you can invision the horse-drawn carriages and the ladies with the large pouffy dresses with umbrellas walking down the road. We walked along the main road, visited the beach, took some pictures and Barb and Peter treated me to a lovely pizza dinner, with left overs for my lunch tomorrow :)

Tonight, I am all alone in the huge Huntsman Center and I must say that I am a little wary. It is a huge home converted into dorm style rooms, and the showers are downstairs in the basement...I think I might wait to shower tomorrow morning...

I will try to find a site where I can post all my pictures. I am anxious to show everyone! There seems to be so much more I can write and it is only the first day! I haven't even begun my course! LOL.

Well, I must say that I am missing Gerry and Ayla so much! Especially being all alone in this big house. They say that you always appreciate things more when you are away from them - and being alone here on this new adventure makes me miss my loves all the more.

Wishing you were here with me and loving you both with all my heart.

Angie

xxx