Giga Pudding!

lol.

Christmas Time Is Here!

Happiness and cheer! Fun for all that children call their favourite time of year!

So, in the interest of procrastination, here's Jeri's 2010 list of the things she likes the most about the christmas season.

1. candy cane hot chocolate
2. candy canes
3. not having to do schoolwork
4. christmas carols
5. christmas shopping
6. christmas decorations
7. spending time with the family
8. classy christmas parties where i can wear a cute dress.
9. christmas television shows
10. the feeling in the air
11. snow that has just fallen on the ground.

I'm sure there are others, but it's time to get back to work. 3 more exams and I'm free as a bird!

Pigs

I'm procrastinating. Pigs are too adorable.

It's nice to just laze around the house for a bit, even if it's only for a day.

It's been ages

I'm sorry, blog.

Here's something to make you happy:

The Trip Back

The trip back was basically drive sleep drive sleep drive sleep drive sleep drive sleep. without commas, because there wasn't really a break btwn the driving and the sleeping.

I suppose there were a few pee-breaks as well.

No sex. The whole way back.

We stayed with people we knew, except for thunder bay, where we stayed in a hostel.

I was ready to kill luke at the end, but i love him again.

When i get the chance to write some more, i'll post some all over musings about the summer

love for all

Jeri

Vancouver Island

Day 1:

we woke up fairly late, and made the 11:00 ferry to Victoria. The ferry was absolutely beautiful, one and a half hours of islands and beautiful weather. It was marvelous. Then, we drove into Victoria, and looked for a place to stay for the evening. Everywhere was expensive, and Victoria didn't agree with Luke, so we decided to head out early and go to Nanaimo instead, where we had found a hostel for $40. We found out when we got there, however, that the hostel was $40 for a reason. It was right over top of a bar, so there was loud music the entire time, and you had to go into the bar to get your room, so I got approached by the kind of people who frequented bars at 4:00 pm. We got into our room, and it was like a jail. There were double bunk beds with threadbare mattresses and only one pillow, and the room was painted beige with no windows and no decorations. We did have a private bathroom though. We decided to just hang out for the evening and explore the next day.

Day 2:

Day two on Vancouver Island was amazing. Firstly, I surprised Luke by taking him bungee jumping off of the nanaimo river. Neither of us had done it before, and i wanted to do something we'd really remember, since we were nearing the end of our trip. Well, I'll definitely remember it. I got up onto the ledge, and my feet felt like they were slipping out of the hinges already. I was absolutely terrified. The only thing running through my mind was "oh my god, i'm going to slip out and die". i leaned forward, let go of the bars, and my mind went blank for a second. It felt like i was in slow motion as i first started to fall forward. Then, i picked up more and more speed until my mind started to work again. All i could think was "holy shit, this is fast. oh my god. i am going to die". Then, i started to slow down and i eased back up. I bounced a few more times and then i lowered myself onto the platform at the end. If you want to watch the video, it'll be on facebook and youtube. I really can't describe the feeling though, nothing i say will do it justice. It's incredible though, and I highly recommend it to anyone who is an adrenaline junkie.

Afterwards, we bought our videos, because we needed something to remember the occasion by, and we drove back into the city. I had another surprise for luke, to an extent. We took a tiny person ferry to Protection Island, which is right off of the nanaimo harbour, and we had dinner on the pub which floats off of the island. It was reasonably priced, very unique, and offered a great view of the city. After that, we went to Parksville, where we swam into the sea until my relatives called, then we went over to their place. Meeting Tom and his wife was great. They are some of the kindest people I've ever met. They took us on a tour of the area, where we saw goats on the roof and a huge waterfall, and then afterward they bought us ice cream, baked us bread, folded our laundry, and gave us a place to sleep. They were so generous, it was way more than was needed.

Day 3:

The next day was quite unexciting. We drove from Parksville to Tofino, thinking of all the glamour that would come. On the drive over, however, I learned that my roommate was moving out, which meant that I'd have to find a new one. It put a bit of a damper on the day, and i was kind of in a bad mood. We got to Tofino excited about what the little town was going to be. It fell short of expectations. There were people everywhere, it was so crowded, and we didn't really know what to do with ourselves. We had lunch, and then decided to leave for Ucluelet, which we had heard was a nicer city and was also on the Pacific Rim. We went to a surf shop there, and met some nice people who hooked us up with lessons, coffee, and told us about a great place to camp nearby. So we drove there, wasted some time, set up our tent, and went to bed.

Day 4:

This day was better. We woke up bright and early, had breakfast, and went to get our rental gear so we could go learn how to surf. We were taught by the same person we'd talked to the day before, so it wasn't as nerve-wrecking as I thought it would be. I wasn't very good, but we stayed in the water for 3 hours and i finally got up on the board once. To be honest, i had a lot more fun just riding the waves back to shore. after the 3 hours of paddling, "surfing" and falling off of my board a lot, we went, made lunch in the parking lot, then drove to a new beach. At this place, i decided to lie down and read my book on the beach, while Luke, who really got the hang of the surfing thing and absolutely loved it, went back out into the water for another 4 hours. After 4 hours of that, we went for food, then drove back to Victoria super quickly. Once we were there, we met up with one of luke's friends, had some meaningful conversation and crashed for the evening.

vancouver part 2

Day 3:

We pretty much lazed around for the entire first half of the day, watching movies and playing DDR at Sarah’s apartment. Then, at 5 pm we started walking downtown, where we were meeting some relatives for dinner. It turned out to be Vern, the guy we’d met the day before, plus Heidie and her husband and children, so it was quite a big group. We got to the restaurant, and it was super super nice. We were terrified, we couldn’t afford the salads, let alone the entrees. We got in, and the waiter poured us wine and put our napkin on our lap for us. It was intense. Our fears were alleviated though, when they told us to not worry about prices and to order whatever we wanted. So we did. I can’t imagine it was cheap, and that’s all I could think about. I started to feel really sick towards the end, so I went downstairs in case I threw up, and in the bathroom there was a bleached blonde, fake-tanned girl wearing a skirt that could have been a belt. “Sorry for taking up so much space,” she said. “my boyfriend just bought my thousand dollar sunglasses. It’s his birthday and we just got back from cabo.”

“cool,” i replied, unaware of what else i could say.

BUT i felt better when i came up, so we walked to the beach to watch the fireworks. It was so crowded there. Apparently people come and wait at this beach from 3 pm to see a 20 minute fireworks display. It’s absolutely ridiculous. The fireworks were a lot of fun, but not worth waiting 6 hours to see. Afterwards, we were supposed to walk downtown to go out with Sarah and her friends, but I had a massive headache, so we just walked home and went to sleep.

Day 4:

• this day was a lot of walking. early in the day, we walked downtown to get seats for the pride parade. The parade was more tame than i expected, but it was still a lot of fun. I saw a bunch of cool floats (pictures to come) and got a bunch of free condoms. :)
• after the parade we met up with my cousin Alana and her husband Adam. They took us out to lunch, and we spent the rest of the afternoon walking around downtown, seeing the sights and drinking coffee. It was really great to see them again, they’re super cool people. Very chill and down to earth.
• after that, we rented bicycles and drove around stanley park. I hadn’t been on a bike in like 4 years, and i ran off the bike path a few times and luke laughed at me. other than that though, the ride was absolutely gorgeous. not much else to say.
• after that, we went to the night market in richmond, where we got some asian food, cheap headphones and some awesome other things that i can’t remember right now.

The next day we drove to Victoria, and I’ll leave that for another blog post. One I may write later today, or i may not.

BY THE WAY for anyone that cares, we’re on our way back now, so ALL luke is doing is driving, which is why i have so much time to catch up on my posts.

Vancouver part 1

The Trek into BC:

We left Calgary around noon, driving for around 7 hours. We were headed to Vancouver, but on the way, we got a text message from my mom’s really good friends in England saying they were in Canada on vacation for a couple of weeks. Turns out they were hanging in the Shuswap Lakes, which is right off the trans canada highway and totally on our way, so we decided to stop in and see them and meet for dinner.

We finally got there, and the drive was absolutely gorgeous. Turns out they were staying with another expat family that we knew, so it was a big party. We had a delicious dinner and a few drinks, and went swimming in the lake. It was so great to catch up with Lois and Jeremy and to see the kids. They’ve gotten so big, they’re all taller than me! In the evening, we had a campfire and played campfire games. Then we had ice cream and tea and went to sleep. They had said there wasn’t enough room for us in the cabin, but they let us sleep on the porch, which was super nice of them. We woke up at 6 in the morning, because we’d promised to meet Sarah in BC for brunch, and drove another 6 hours to get into Vancouver at noon.

The drive was absolutely gorgeous. I don’t know why, but i’d assumed that the drive into BC would be more prairies after the mountains, but the mountains didn’t seem to end. We kept driving and winding through mountains and lakes and everything and the view never ceased. We hit some brutal construction and traffic going into Vancouver, but eventually we arrived at Sarah’s place.

VANCOUVER!

Day 1:

• we had brunch with Sarah and her friend Amelie at this place called Sophie’s Cosmic diner. It was averagely priced, but the food was delicious and the decor was a lot of fun.
• we walked downtown and went to the beach. It still surprises me that there are actual beaches downtown. It’s such a change from Saint John, where the coastline is all disgusting and unswimmable.
• we took a bus from downtown to go get Sushi at this place called The Eatery. It was delicious and really weird. It was the sushi bar for hipsters. On the cieling, they had statues made of mcdonalds toys and other stuff like that. The sushi was pretty good though, if a little expensive.
• we went back to the apartment, regrouped, and then went to Room 18 for $1.55 beers. They were delicious.

Day 2:

• we chilled out until 3 pm, when we went to meet one of my relatives I’d never met before for dinner. We ate at The Local, which has an amazing veggie burger. It was so delicious, it had guacamole and salsa on it, and was pretty much the best thing ever. Highly recommended. like my reccomendations mean anything. It was also really cool to meet a new relative. He seemed like a really cool guy, very into sports and fitness, but at the same time like a sort of overgrown kid. He still loved to party.
• after dinner, we walked to the beach and hung out for a little bit, then went home and watched a movie.
• after that, we went to Luke’s friend’s place for a couple of drinks and to catch up. I’d never met her before, but Elle seemed really cool. We had a lot of wine, went for a walk, listened to music, then went home

Calgary!

So late that evening, we got into Calgary, and we were tired and hungry. Terry catered to those needs perfectly by making us some tortellini, chatting for a bit, and then showing us our bed. While we chatted however, a crazy hail storm ensued. Ot was absolutely ridiculous. One second it was just kind of rainy, the next second it looked like a blizzard outside. it was crazyyyyy. Luke had left his sunroof open, so he had to go close it, and he was sitting inside the car while it hailed, terrified that a hailstone was going to crack through the windshield. but then it went away and we went to sleep.

The next day, we went to calaway park, which is an okay amusement park, but the lines were too long for the "good" rides and they weren't really worth the wait. the other rides that were thrill rides but were a bit smaller were better cuz the lines were shorter and it was just as much fun. one of them, though, didn't even have seatbelts and you go upside down. it was terrifying. the super spinner was the best ride though. and luke bought me cotton candy and it was amazing. that night, we went to visit carli, and then we went home for an early night. We wanted to catch up with Johnathan, with whom we met up on the way to newfoundland, but his phone broke.

The next day, we headed out to Vancouver!! more on that later!

The Great Outdoors.

After we finished up our business in Edmonton, we drove up to Jasper to spend the day and do a little hike. We found a camp site a little ways outside the city, set up camp there, and then went into Jasper to find out what the best kind of hikes to do were. We wanted a short one to do that evening, and then a longer one to do the next day.

We were recommended a hike to the Glacier lakes in Edith Cavell, so we did a little hour and a half hike there. It was absolutely phenomenal. The lakes had little bits of ice in them and it was absolutely gorgeous. I'll post pics when i get the chance. Also, jasper was absolutely beautiful. Way nicer than banff because it was less touched by the tourist craze. Also also, there were no drive in campsites left at the park, but we got a walk in site, and it was gorgeous cuz there were no campers or trucks there. Then we made dinner and played crib by the campfire and went to sleep in our tent.

The next day we were going to go for a big hike on the columbia icefields, but we didn't feel like it so we just drove all day from jasper to lake louise, then banff. we stopped in lake louise to look at the lake, and we also drove up to the lake above jasper whose name i can't remember to look at it as well. we stopped at our campground, and were kind of tired, so we set up camp, made dinner, and went to sleep.

the next day was the day i walked down memory lane. we got up, and went to banff to look around. we went to the fairmont banff springs to see where my mother got married to my father. then, we drove to canmore, where we went on a gorgeous hike my mother did twice while pregnant, and once with me. when we were done with that, we drove to bragg creek and redwood meadows to see my old house and elementary school, and then we finally drove to Calgary, where we crashed with my mom's friend Terry. :)

Edmonton V. 2

The rest of the days in Edmonton were relatively uneventful. We did the touristy things, like Fort Edmonton Park. While we were there, we hitched a ride with this dude driving around in the 1930's collector car. I don't know what type it was, I'm not really a car person. It was awesome though. Also, we went into an old-style saloon and had a beer. And we also got some old candy, and we also... did other things. Like walked around and looked at old buildings and got a sense of the history and everything.

The next day, we watched an episode of Big Bang Theory (the one where Sheldon tries to become friends with Kripke so he can use his lab only to find out that Kripke has no sway). In the episode, Sheldon goes rock climbing for the first time, and it really made us want to rock climb, so we looked up gyms in Edmonton and settled for Climb Edmonton. It's small, but cheap, i recommend it if you're into bouldering, i guess it's called. it was a relatively new experience for me, i'd never climbed in canada before where i actually needed safety gear. Then we went home, and went out for drinks with Nik and Chris. It was quite the fun day!

The final day in Edmonton, we got up, and then drove out to New Sarepta to visit my great uncle Eric. He's such a great guy. 82 years old and still kickin'! he cracked jokes like it was no big deal and was running around the house the same way he was when he was 40. Then we went to Grandma's, where she cooked us dinner and hung out with us, playing crib and 31. It was very reminiscent of my childhood. Then then, my cousin Taylor came over and we went out on the quads then sat there and talked for hours.

And THAT was Edmonton for realz. woo! next post will be on the mountains! yay!

Edmonton. :)

Hmm, Edmonton, how you made me smile.

We're currently cruising down the Trans-Canada 1, listening to the Born Ruffians, while I try to remember my exploits in Edmonton and the Rockies. The music is distracting, but in a good way. No matter how many times I listen to this album, I can't help but love it. It's just so catchy! HIGHLY recommended. Red, Yellow, and Blue, that is. Not Say It. Their second album was just so-so. ANYWAY, back to the trip deets. In a way, I can't wait to blog about things other than my adventures. That being said, I don't really want this to be over, but I am excited about the normalcy of life to begin once more.

So, anyway. Edmonton. I believe we left off on Sunday, where I woke up on Nikole's love seat to begin our day in a brand new city. That day was a lot of fun. We went to the Street Performer's Festival, which was just ending, and saw a dude juggle 5 basketballs on a unicycle the height of 2 people. Afterwards, we got some lemonade and a hotdog, and Nik and Chris showed us the sights of Edmonton in 3 hours. We went to City Hall to admire the architecture, and then to the Legislature to hang out in front of it, in the wading fountain. It was a lot of fun. :) Then we went to a cute little sushi bar, and home for the evening to chill out and watch some TV.

The next day, we decided to go to West Edmonton Mall to go to the water park. I had been there before, a few times, but luke had never been, and he just didn't understand the attraction of going to a big mall. Once we got there, he understood that it wasn't just a mall. That place has submarine rides, a giant lake, an amusement park, the worlds largest indoor waterpark, and so much more. The stores are nothing special, but he couldnt help but get excited about the attractions. We spent bunches of time going on the waterslides over and over again, and also went on the roller coaster once, because we just had to. Afterwards, we went to visit my grandmother, and had a very awkward couple of hours chatting about whatever came to mind. Then, we got lost going home, but finally made our way home.

The next day we chilled out until it came time to go to my aunt Linda's for dinner. We left at 5:30, were supposed to be there by 6, and didn't get there until around 7:15. We got SO lost, google maps took us in the absolute wrong direction because i put the wrong street in, and then we ended up at a starbucks with no way of contacting my aunt. We eventually got a hold of her because i called my mother who left a message at my uncles, so then my uncle's wife texted me linda's address and phone number. phew. Eventually we got there, and I reunited with my aunt and her new husband, so i guess my uncle, and my 2 cousins, plus my new baby cousin. We had dinner, where I got to try squash lasagna, bought specifically for me, and then we went in the hot tub with the cousins and had dessert. It was certainly an exciting turn of events. :) Then we went home, and DID NOT GET LOST thank god.

okay I'm bored, I'll finish edmonton later. peacee

by the way

p.s. sorry i can't figure out how to make my text a consistent size. I'm computer-stupid and can't figure out how to change the text when i copy it from a word document. oh well.

thunder bay to edmonton

The last few days have been a little bit of sight seeing, punctuated by a LOT of driving.

Day 1:

drive 17 hours from Toronto to Thunder Bay through Sudbury and Sault Ste. Marie. The drive was long, but so beautiful. Not much to report on the drive. We ended up staying the night at Thunder Bay International Hostel, our first hostel experience of the trip, and i must say, it was a good one. :) we got our own room with a queen bed for only $40 ($20 each). The proprietors were very nice, it felt like an oversized b&b. We met some cool people there too, a lot of people who were doing the same thing as us, but the other way across the country. One man drove up from southern Chile! It was nice to get a good sleep, though. :)

Day 2:

The next day was also full of driving. We drove all the way from Thunder Bay to Winnipeg. Then, we crashed with Luke’s mother’s cousin, I do believe. We were tired from the night, but we were hungry, so we went for a walk in search of something to eat. We came upon a restaurant called Salisbury House, which is apparently a Manitoba specialty. We were not impressed, to say the least. The lady taking our orders was super stressed out, telling us what we could and couldn’t order from the menu, and yelling at us while we ate. It was the most stressful dinner I have ever had. I don’t plan on going back in the forseeable future. We also got told that we would get robbed and die and our car would get broken into, etc. Needless to say, I was a little freaked out going to bed.

Day 3:

we hung out in winnipeg for the day, it was exciting. during the day, we went to the royal canadian mint, where we got to see coins being made, then we went downtown for dinner. we ate at this really great pub, called the king’s head, and then walked around where the fringe festival was going on. we saw a few free street performers, but they weren’t very good. We also went to a fringe play called “Freud vs. his Ego”. The actors forgot their lines a few times, but it was pretty good. it was pretty comical. we then got a few more drinks, and headed home for the evening.

Day 4:

we woke up, finished our laundry, and hit the road to Regina. On the way, though, we stopped in Souris, Manitoba, a random stop a little ways off the main highway, to see a really cool swinging bridge. It was one of the longest swinging bridges I’d seen. After that, we drove to Regina, where we checked in at the hostel, then went to dinner. After dinner, we met a few people at the hostel who were planning on going out that night. We went out for a few drinks by ourselves at a fairly popular pub in the area, then the 4 guys picked us up and we went to a crazy sketchy dance bar. I thought that i was going to get drugged or something. Everyone was super intense, and the 4 guys absolutely loved to dance, it was hilarious. Eventually we tired of that club, so we walked to the pub next door, got in without paying cover, and danced to an 80’s disco cover band. It was interesting, to say the least. Finally, we went back to the hostel, and quickly fell asleep.

Day 5:

We drove from Regina to Moosejaw, where we got lunch. We didn’t really do much there, it was kind of an accident that we even ended up there, but then we drove up to saskatoon, where we didn’t stop and eventually made our way to Edmonton, where we met up with my sister Nikole, and went downtown for a few drinks. Then, we went back home and went to bed.

I know i’m super behind, but updates to follow, i’m exhausted.

soooo.....

I'm a horrible person. We're in Calgary right now. Since Toronto, we've been to Thunder Bay, Winnipeg, Regina, Edmonton, Jasper, Banff, Canmore, and now Calgary. I PROMISE that I'm going to write in the blog SOON! tomorrow! but i really don't have time today.

Torontoooooo

So, I’m currently in a car, traveling at 100 km/h, headed towards Sault Ste. Marie, keeping good on my promise to write this blog post while on the road. I mean really, what else is there to do while we’re driving?

For the last 4 or 5 days, we were in Toronto. Canada’s largest city, ontario’s capital, and the birthplace of... multiculturalism? I don’t really know what else was born in T Dot. We arrived in the evening after a day of Niagara fun. We drove to the cross-street where our apartment was supposed to be, then received a text from Bryce that stated that we had to head over to where he was to pick up the key. So instead of driving, we opted for a 25 minute walk, and finally found the keys to our place.

Keith’s place is amazing. It’s a 1 bedroom basement apartment, but it’s super spacey and he’s done a wonderful job of decorating it, in my opinion. We spent the rest of the night relaxing and watching a few episodes of House, season 1, which I’ve recently become re-addicted to. The next day, we woke up and decided that we’d spend the day resting before we went to the show in the evening. We went for a walk, and had some pad thai at a restaurant that the internet recommended to us, Thai Basil. Then, we went home, watched a few more episodes of House, and decided upon what we were going to do for the next few days. I wanted to do all the touristy stuff, Luke wanted to party. We opted for a compromise, buying the city pass to save us money on the main tourist attractions, and going out in the evenings to check out the city’s nightlife.

Things turned the wrong way, however, when we started walking to the show’s venue. I was cramping super hard, and I figured it was from all the walking right after I had eaten. But when we got there, sat down and watched the show, my stomach started hurting more and more, and it almost took away from the beauty that is Tim Minchin. I say almost because that dude is fucking brilliant, there’s no other way to put it. He’s definitely my favourite comedian, and seeing him live only intensified that fact. He just has such a brilliantly awkwardly hilarious stage presence and his songs would bring anyone to hysterics. Bo Burnham was pretty funny too, and the set was shorter than I’d like, but otherwise it was an amazing night.

The downside, however, is that I woke up the next morning with a stomach that was better, but still in great pain. I truly thought that I had appendicitis. So I went to the clinic, and got my tummy checked out. The doctor told me that I just had a little bit of food poisoning, and that I should be good to go to the zoo as long as I followed the food regimen that he gave me. Soups and clear liquids only the first day, bananas, toast, and apple sauce and rice the next, and bland steamed foods the next day.

So that day we went to the zoo and the ontario science centre and got to be little children all over again. we saw all the pretty animals (such as giraffes and hippos and zebras and elephants and kangaroos and monkeys) and got to play around with science experiments like 10 year olds. It was awesome. We had decided to take public transit to get there, though, which was a nightmare. It took us a 30 minute bus ride and 3 subway transfers to get home from the zoo. We navigated it without an issue, though. I was so proud of myself.

I figured I was fine stomachwise when I got home, but the next morning when I woke up, I had a cup of tea and puked everything I had the day before up. It was kind of gross. Because of this, luke decided I wasn’t okay to continue sight-seeing and we laid in bed all day and watched house. It was not the most fun i’ve ever had, but I probably needed the day of relaxation.

The next day, I felt fine, so we got up, and walked to Casa Loma, which is this huge castle in downtown toronto that some rich dude owned then got to broke to pay for so he had to move his family out. Quite a sad story, but we got an audio tour of the place, which had been turned back into a beautiful castle in the same sort of fashion, and learned some cool things about the house and its owner. Afterwards, we went to the royal ontario museum where I learned some cool things about gems and minerals because of a guided tour we had, and then we spent the rest of the time looking at dinosaur bones and going “look, dinosaurs! oooooooooohhhhhhhh!” it was very exciting, I promise you. Then, we went home, cooked dinner, and went for a long walk to the CN tower, the pinnacle of our touristy crap, where for only $30 you can go up an elevator! It was pretty cool, though. We were up really high, and could see the entire city. We also got a chance to walk on the glass floor, which was absolutely terrifying, but kind of cool. The best part, though, was the motion simulator ride that came with our admission. We pretended we were in a new place called the himalamazon, which was super fun. It was like a roller coaster, except it wasn’t really a roller coaster. Then we went home, rested our weary heads on our beds, and went to sleep.

The next morning, we woke up super early, and were on the road! dum dum dum dummmmmmmmm

more news to follow. :)

Syracuse, NY

Hmm... basically we just drove through new york so that we could save a bit of money on gas, and cuz we had a place to stay, and cuz I hadn't seen my friend Sean in ages. And by ages, I actually mean ages. 6 years. It was crazy to reconnect! other than that, though, there's not much to report on syracuse.

we went to the zoo and saw a bunch of cool animals, like elephants and bears and stuff! there will be photos posted as soon as i buy a USB adapter for my memory card and I can upload them, since i have no camera cord at current. we also went to the mall, where i went underwear shopping and we saw grown ups in the theatre. not a bad movie, but definitely not an oscar winner.

the next day we chilled out and went for a little bit of a drive. we tried to find downtown, failing miserably, and then ended up going for dinner at pastabilities, which was quite a delicious spot, if you're ever in the area. and thennn we headed to niagara falls.

oh oh and we also went to a mall in buffalo because luke promised me that he'd buy me dippin' dots cuz i'd never had them. they were delicious. :) super super delicious. :)

once we'd gotten to niagara falls, we checked into our hotel, showered, changed, and went downstairs to catch the shuttle bus to the restaurant we were going to dinner at. I believe it was called "the Keg"? Anyway, we had a $40 gift card for there, so luke got a 30 dollar steak and i got an 8 dollar salad, and guess who was more satisfied with their meal?

(i'll give you a hint, it was me.)

Then, we caught the same shuttle bus to the falls, where we got out and took pictures while the driver, Dave, had a smoke break. We also got a chance to talk to him. He was a retired newfie who really seemed to enjoy his new work as a bus driver. he was a pretty sweet dude. THEN, we went to Dave & Buster's, where we had $40 in arcade credits. We spent the entire night playing arcade games. Eventually, luke won me a stuffed pug. it is really quite adorable. Then, we went to a little karaoke bar my aunt told us about, and listened to people who couldn't sing while we tried to get drunk enough to find them entertaining. it was a pretty good time! Then finally, we caught the shuttle bus back to the hotel, where we promptly fell asleep after a long and tiring day.

Oh, oh, i forgot. there were fireworks over the falls that night too that we watched!! gorgeous. :) there will be pictures of those too.

The next day, we (or I, more accurately) were determined to get the entire falls experience. We paid for the maid of the mist and the journey behind the falls, coming in at about $15 each. journey behind the falls fell slightly below expectations, but the maid of the mist was absolutely amazing. you got to get soooo close to the falls, and the waves are rocking the boat and you're getting absolutely soaked. it was crazy!! journey behind the falls, on the other hand, you only got to go through to little portals where you could see water rushing down. it was kind of cool, but not half as exciting as anything else. After that, we were ready to go to Toronto.

I'm exhausted right now, and we leave for thunder bay tomorrow, so i will write a post about toronto in the car tomorrow and post it whenever i get internet. i promise!

Photos

in case anyone is interested, here are some photos from the last few months, all courtesy of luke perrin at http://www.flickr.com/photos/lukeperrin/

1. luke and zack and i at their senior prom.

2. ju playing up a storm in halifax

3. David R. Elliott playing his acoustic set.

4. dan tweedie resting in between sets

5. scott mallory playing his set at the same show

6. me and luke going for a hike in Cow Head, NL. i love this shot cuz it looks like i'm swimming into a vortex of nothingness.

7. me in PEI, being all happy and stuff.

8. char and I approaching buffaloland provincial park in PEI

9. me on top of the world at east point, PEI

10. right after we crossed the bridge to pei, this was graveyard road that drove us right down to the beach.

more to come, i'm sure!

OTTAWA

So, ottawa. what is there to say?

Well first, i suppose I must start before Ottawa, in Saint John. We drove from Saint John to Fredericton, where we spent the night with Luke's friend Megan Bird. She was spending the night with her boyfriend, however, so we got the place to ourselves for the night. In the morning, we quickly packed up and headed out to Montreal at around 7 am. quite early for some young'uns like us. The trip was long, but eventually we ended up at my apartment at around 3 pm. Luke had an appointment to see an apartment, so we went downtown to check it out, then went looking for something to eat. Then, we went back home, had a few beer and went downtown to check out Beast's free show. it was pretty kickin. After heading to Benelux to meet up with Ashley, which was awesome, we went home and rested our weary heads on our pillows.

The next day, we went running around to see more apartments, and we also... did some things. i don't really remember what. it was a pretty chill day though, we went over to Andrew's and hung out for a little bit. it was really great to see some good friends again, even if only for a little bit.

the next day, we ran some errands and began our two hour trek to ottawa on canada day. We happened to catch the tail end of the parade in Montreal, which was pretty awesome. Afterwards, we dropped our stuff off at Ross's place, and his girlfriend Sarah-Grace showed us around downtown, while we took in all the craziness that was Ottawa on Canada Day. We then went back to the apartment, where Ross was off work, then we went to see Owen Pallett play a free show. It was incredible. Never before have i seen such brilliant musicianship coming from one person. His use of the delay and loop pedals to create songs that just build and build was absolutely crazy. Ahh. Anyway, then we went back to the hotel, ordered pizza, had a few beer and hung out for a little bit. After that, we walked downtown and continued to party, checking out the fireworks that started at 10, and hanging out around the town. That continued for quite a while, the wandering and drinking, and wandering and drinking. We got back to the apartment, and had a few more drinks, finally passing out at around 4:30 am. It was pretty insane.

The next day, we went to a little diner for poutine for breakfast. Perfect for your tastebuds, not so perfect for your stomach. It was delicious, though. Then, we just hung out for a little bit. We went for another walk, checked out the Bytown market, and in the evening we went to a little pub for a little bit of fun. I don't think that was the most exciting of days.

The third of july, we decided to do a tour of parliament, but they were completely booked by the time we got our asses out of bed, so we went to the national art gallery instead, where they had a pop-art exhibit. It did a great job of showing how modern art had progressed through the years and the really influential people, so i highly recommend it to anyone in ottawa. We then went back to the market for something to eat, then went home for dinner where Ross and Sarah-Grace made us an amazing pasta salad that I still can't get over. So delicious. Then we watched planet earth and passed out.

Our final day in Ottawa, we went to do our tour of parliament, and we got to go up into the peace tower observatory and see ottawa from the top where the clock was. it was absolutely crazy to have that kind of point of view. The tour was kind of cool too, to be able to see where all our governmental stuff happens, but it only covered the basics of parliament, which was nothing i didn't already know. The architecture in the building, however, is absolutely gorgeous. That was probably the part that stunned me the most. We also got a tour of the rideau locks, which is one of 3 or 4 UNESCO heritage sites in the world, and also the place where Ross works. Our very personalized tour was super exciting, i felt very privileged. After that, I got the chance to meet up for coffee with Mickie, one of my friends from school, and we got to catch up, which was really nice. After that, we went to dinner at this little mexican restaurant called Ahora, which was cheap and delicious. I was very impressed. THEN we went to a shisha bar to chill out, and went home and went to sleep.

The next day, today, i suppose, was the hottest day of all, and we felt we were going to die as we gathered our stuff and left ottawa to drive to syracuse. It was a long drive, and we were both completely exhausted, as it was so warm. I feel like I'm going to die right now, in fact, but at least i'm in an air conditioned room.

Anyway, I think that's enough for now! sorry for the length of the post, but I'm in America!

I have been ridiculously lazy.

And for that, I apologize.

A lot has happened in the last 3 weeks. I don't have time to detail the whole thing now, so I will give a very brief synopsis:

Newfoundland:

We spent about a week in Newfoundland. While there, we did the following things:

1. partied it up on George St. and got screeched in at Trapper Johns. For the low price of $12, we got a shot, the glass it came in, and a pretty little certificate saying that I was now an honourary Newfoundlander.

2. went on a brewery tour at Quidi Vidi brewing co, and got a little tipsy at 3 in the afternoon

3. went to cape spear and saw the easternmost point of North America

4. hung out at the house and played some cribbage.

5. walked around downtown St. John's and had some delicious eats.

6. Went to Gros Morne National Park and hiked and camped. We did one overnight hike/camp thingy, where we hiked in 3 k, dropped off our packs, and then hiked the other 17 k around. It was hell. We went up and down and up and down and up and down stairs until I thought I was going to die. We did, however, see a moose up close (like 10 feet away). It has got to be one of the most majestic things I have ever seen. We also saw a bunch of wild sheep grazing. When we went back to camp in the evening, we awoke to 2 sheep and 2 lambs sitting under our picnic table, staring at us as if we'd invaded their space. It was kind of terrifying, but kind of awesome at the same time. After that hike, we continued up to the top of gros morne by car, and found a new place to do a little day hike. then, we found our camp spot for the night, and continued on our merry little way.

7. hung out in corner brook for about a day, but by that point in time, i could barely walk because i killed my knee on that giant 20 k hike up and down the mountain, so we just got coffee, then drove to port au basque to wait for the ferry. Then, the ferry took us to...

Cape Breton/Nova Scotia:

We were in cape breton for approximately 2 days, and in halifax for 3 nights. While there, we:

1. spent the night in a cute little B&B called the Foghorn Inn in Little Lorraine. The owner was super sweet, and she loved to talk about her kids. She actually opened the B&B because she got so lonely after she had retired and all her kids had moved out. It was the comfiest bed, a good price, and a lot of fun. There's my recommendation.

2. went to the fortress of Louisbourg, where we got to see a bunch of old buildings and people dressed up in costume, and we took a fun little tour and got to learn about the fortress. It was pretty fun, but not the most exciting thing in the world. We got to see more sheep while we were there!

3. went to halifax, where we engaged in a few too many bad habits, and spent a bit too much money at the bars. We also took another brewery tour, this one being Alexander Keith's, which was actually theatrical and everyone was dressed up in costume. It was a lot of fun, and once more, i was slightly tipsy at 3 in the afternoon. We stayed with my friend David R. Elliott, who played a show that night with his band, the Novellas (shameless music plug here: http://www.myspace.com/davidrelliott ), and it was pretty sick. Other than that, we just toured downtown and hung out. It was a lot of fun.

And then we decided that we couldn't hike the dobson cuz my knee still killed, so we went back to Saint John for a couple weeks. And my mommy graduated and so did my little brothers and I painted our entire house and it was very exciting.

and my next post will actually be recent! and have photos, hopefully! yay!

St. John's, Newfoundland!

The Ferry Ride:

Was long, and we didn't sleep. We met a rad guy from Alberta/Newfoundland named Jonathan, who accompanied us on our ferry adventures, bought us a couple drinks and helped us drink our sweet strawberry PEI wine. We played a few games of crib, met a drunken Sudbury native, and stayed up until the wee hours of the morn.

The Drive to St. John's:

was also long, and we also didn't sleep. however, luke did pull over to the side of the road for a 30 minute power nap, cuz he just couldn't concentrate. When we reached Corner Brook, we picked up a hitchhiker named Mikayla (sp?) and her german shepherd Henry. they were great company and helped us pass the time all the way till St. John's. She was a street kid and had tons of crazy stories about the last few years. Eventually, we parted ways in St. John's, and we found the place we were staying for the next few days: Luke's friend Jaclyn was putting us up!

More on St. John's when i'm not exhausted. :)

woo newfieland!

headed to gros morne national park to do some hiking and camping. updates later on our trip in the city!

Cape Breton Drum Fest!

Alright, seriously, how lucky is it that my parents just happened to be in cape breton the same weekend as I had planned to? Hotel stay for free? hot showers? indoor pool? Yes, please!

so maybe it wasn't completely happy-go-lucky, you get a bit stir-crazy after being crammed in a windowless hotel room with 4 other people, 2 of which are smokers. I love my family, and I'm so grateful for everything they've done for me, but after 3 or 4 hours of endless taunting the first night, I was ready to leave.

I stuck it through, though, and throughout the weekend we saw some super sick drummers. The guys that worked with Billy Joel, Pink Floyd, Chicago, Santana, Aretha Franklin, Miles Davis, and countless others. It was absolutely crazy. We also won Lukie a cymbal in the door prize, which was pretty killer. Other than that, though, there isn't much to report.

We went to the drive in one night, and I felt horrible for falling asleep on our one year anniversary! oops. The movies were "How to Train your Dragon" and "Iron Man 2", but unfortunately, the only one I stayed awake for was iron man two, when the other one was the one that i had actually wanted to see. Oh well, though, life goes on.

After two days of touring Sydney and watching drummers do their thang, we finally peaced out on monday night. We had nothing to do all day, so we went to the cinema to see the Runaways, then took the ferry to Newfoundland! More on that later, though.

I can't believe how quickly I'm spewing this shit out, I feel like I deserve an award or something.

The Other Two Days of Camping

The next two days were much the same as the first. The air was damp with rain, the ground was the same shade of PEI red, and your two protagonists were just about ready to kill each other.

Seriously, though. The next two days of camping were alright. I was definitely ready for a shower by the end of them, but I'm excited to do some more. The first day, we drove up to the north point, and went into the windmill information centre, where luke bought me a plush lobster as a souvenir, and we learned more than we ever wanted to about windmills. Then, we completed the nature walk at the north cape and learned a little bit about trees and birds and stuff, I guess.

Then, we drove to our next camping point, and successfully cooked pasta over an open fire! props to luke for that, cuz I sure as hell didn't help. Then, after a slightly more assured and rested sleep, we continued on our way the next morning.

After a quest for coffee, we drove through cavendish and brackley beach. The place was a ghost town, absolutely nothing was open yet. I was super disappointed, but luke vowed to make me happy, so we eventually found a gouda farm, where we could watch this old lady make cheese through some viewing windows. It was super sweet, we were allowed to rummage through the barn and pet the dairy cows, and the piggies, and the barn kitties, and we also watched a video on how to make cheese. After that, en route to our new campsite, we decided to drive all the way to wood islands, because there really wasn't much else to do. On our way there, we came across the Great Canadian Soap company, where we decided to learn about soap and the way it is supposed to be made! Then, we went to check on ferry times, and camped out for one more night.

I'm running way behind in my posts, I know, but for the next few days, I'll be camping in newfoundland, so I don't know if i'll be posting. I still have to write all about Cape Breton Drum Fest, and my entire time in St. John's. I'm working on it, don't you worry, i will catch up eventually. That is, if anyone is reading this. ;)

peace, family and friends!

More Details on the Last Few Days.

So.

Camping in PEI for 3 days.

The first day, the first day, what did we do? We left Char's place at around 1 in the afternoon, after spending all morning cleaning up and getting everything ready to camp. After that, we drove through to the west point provincial park. I believe we stopped in Summerside to get a big plate of fries, and then we continued on our way. It was an absolutely gorgeous day. If you're ever in town, I highly recommend Eva's Restaurant and Lounge, if that was what the place was even called. Super cheap, great food, great service. all wonderful things. Afterwards, we made our way to the campground, and walked along the beach for an hour, looking for a place to camp. Once we figured out that the campgrounds were actually set up, and they just weren't open yet, we looked for information on camping in closed campgrounds, found that there was nothing against it, and set up camp in a little clump of trees in the camp ground. :) We heated up our soup over an open fire! We were quite proud of ourselves, and the cookware seems to be holding up quite well. I, of course, am terrified of open fire, and getting caught for doing something illegal, so I was sitting there shaking the entire time that Luke was trying to get shit done. Oops :$. Then we went to bed fairly early, and I spent most of the night cold and shaking, because i couldn't stop thinking about getting attacked by a fox or a bear or a park ranger or a mass murderer or something. I made it out alive, though!! Also, I now know there are no bears in PEI, there hasn't been a murder in 10 years on the island and I am absolutely ridiculous.

More on the next few days to follow in a few. :)

Days 8 to... i don't know what day it is anymore.

I'm still alive!

We spent 3 days touring PEI, camping in closed campsites.

then we took the wood islands ferry to pictou, NS, and drove up to sydney where we met up wit my rents and spent 2 days at the cape breton drum festival.

now we're headed to newfoundland!!!! i'm so excited

details on the former to follow, i don't have much time right now.

Days 7+

Off around PEI camping and stuff!

We're already over-budget. oops.

looks like we're going to Newfie-land after all!

Should be exciting!

look, here's a pic of me at the giant lobster in shediac!

Days 5 and 6? I think? I'm already starting to lose count of days.

Day 5:

Char took us for a drive around the southeastern part of PEI. we went to Georgetown, got lunch in Montague, and then went to Cape Bear and Point Prim to see some lighthouses! The lighthouses were pretty cool, the one at cape bear was the lighthouse where they first heard the titanic's distress signal. That was a fun and exciting time! We also went to Buffaloland provincial park, where we got to see the buffalo graze! I was really really excited about that! I have no idea why there are buffalo on PEI, but it was pretty rad to see them!

After that, we went to Frank's relative's 85th birthday party, which was a potluck with a bunch of country people I've never met. I have never felt so out of place, all i could do was wait for it to end. But end it finally did, and I met some cool people, i guess.

then, we drove into charlottetown, and went to the City Cinema to watch an aussie movie about an adulterous couple who jack a big bag of cash. It was called the Square. it was intense. Also, nothing is open. not even coffee shops. or anything. it was ridiculous, trying to find something to do for the 45 minutes before the movie started. ANYWAY then we went home and went back to sleep. :)

Day 6:

we basically spent the day prepping for the next 4 days, where we'll be driving around the coast and camping at the national parks. get ready for pictures of sweaty dirty jeri and luke without a shower and with only the bare minimum of food! so there won't be any blog posts for a while.

we went shopping for groceries, bought stuff like freezedried milk and stuff! yum.

updates to follow in about a week or so, so long for now, peoples!

Days 3, 4, etc.

Day 3:

went into Charlottetown, investigated the beauty of the downtown historic area, decided that it would be a cute little city to live in, but apparently in the winter there's really not much to do. It's tiny! I had no idea that there were only 40,000 people in that little city. :) That doesn't even classify as urban under American standards!

Anyway, we went to province house where we saw where the legislature sits, and watched a cute little video about it. Aaand... we had coffee at Beanz, aaaand... we went into St. Dunstan's basilica, spent like 5 seconds in there admiring the architecture, then deciding that it was awkward just standing in a house of prayer. We also went to the Confederation Centre Art Gallery, which was kind of cool, we saw a bunch of old photos by this dude who went across Canada. Sound familiar?

Then we got bored and went home, and later we went back in for dinner at Hunter's with Char and Frank, then we all went to Baba's lounge for a few drinks and to see the Idlers. :) Then, tired as anything, we rested our heads on our pillows and passed out.

Day 4:

Wooo twenty-something kilometre hike through the crazy PEI wilderness! I saw bears and foxes and moose and barracudas!

No, I didn't.

But i did see a couple blue heron and two squirrels! they were super cute and cuddly.

I'd forgotten how much I liked hiking, it's getting me really excited to do the dobson! I can't wait, it should be so much fun to do something I've ever done before.

aaand that's about it for now! updates to follow for the like 1 person that's reading this.

Days 1,2, and the beginning of 3

Day 1:

- drive to Riverview, visit with grandparents, run errands, listen to endless stories about how the cat, Mariah, is, in fact, a male. oh yes. Eat pizza from Sobeys, listen to Nanny discuss for 10 mins with the cashier the fact that she got a free pizza. Sympathize silently with the cashier.

- spend the night at Vanessas, watching AI, gossiping, the usual.

Day 2:

- leave Vaya's, head to PEI, do shit, get lost, etc.

- eat lunch in Charlottetown

-head to Char's, plan our week, visit.

Day 3:

wake up?

updates to come, loves!

Jeri

Trip time!

Ahh, I can't wait!

Soon, I embark upon my voyage across Canada, to live, laugh, learn, etc. I can't wait to see what the future brings. I'll try to update regularly, but they'll probably be few and far-between.

good luck in the summer, everyone!

Love Jeri

I have another confession to make.

I'm still madly in love with JT.

this post has no title.

I am craving change, I believe the summer will be good for me.

Platinum blonde, anyone? Maybe I'll finally take the plunge this weekend. I've been told that I could rock it. :)

I don't know what else to say. I feel like school is sucking the life out of me.

Here's a cute picture:

I want this.

I know that the one I drew on is kind of... inaccurate? but you try drawing the world upside down on your feet with a sharpie that only half works.

what do you think?

I am an artist.

or am I?

What defines artistic talent? What makes a poem "good"? Is anyone who has slapped a few lines together and added a few spaces an artist? Are artists relegated to the fields of visual art? Are musicians artists? Are poets? Screenwriters? DJs? Non-fiction writers? Journalists?

I don't know. Thoughts on the matter?

so...

Huh. I think my blog needs a revamp. Apparently at least a few people actually read what I have to say, so maybe I should focus on making them happy. Or maybe it will make me happy, who knows? All I know is that I am definitely procrastinating right now.

Sigh. Oh university, how you catch me every time.

Famous McGill Graduates

1. William Shatner
- actor and silver fox
- BCom 1952
- Captain Kirk

2. Steven Pinker

- BA 76 in experimental psychology

-psycholinguistic genius

- on Time's list of 100 people or something

- mad sweet jew fro

3. Sam Roberts
- BA '98

- Rock star and sexpot

- famous for being rad and playing rad tunes.

4. Jack Layton

-BA '70

-sexy leader of NDP

-killer stache

-killer political views, etc.

5. Win Butler

- BA '04

- member of Arcade Fire

- famous for making kickin' tunes

-yep



6. Wilfrid Laurier

- BA (some year a long time ago)

- 7th prime minister of Canada

-had cool hair

-is old and stuff

-has a shitload of things named after him



7. Burt Bacharach

- BMus a while ago

- best song ever: Raindrops Keep Fallin' on my head

- best known for being cool



8. Leonard Cohen

- BA 56

- best known for making awesome tunes

-also for generating a hipster following

-i'd tap that

9. Christopher Plummer

- actorrrr

-played the voice of the old dude that tried to kill the bird in Up

- had slightly more important roles too.



10. Alyson's aunt

- lesbian

- studied audiology