The Lyons Den

Hey to all!

Outside it is very cold, -13 with a wind chill of -31.  Sigh… makes me long for the days we spent at the cabin, and along the river, sailing in the sunshine.  The day we left for Moncton to catch our plane, the rain was relentless! The rivers were rising like crazy, and we even came across a part of the highway that was flooded by a creek (which now thought it was a river) that had overflowed and filled the ditches.  Rain, rain, rain. I haven’t seen rain like that since springtime in Vancouver.

Of course, some last minute shopping was in order. Have you ever tried to cram  last minute items into suitcases that are already full? That proved to be a bit of a challenge, as we stuffed and sorted in the parkade of the Moncton airport.  In all the hustle and bustle, I forgot to get rid of my “sharp and pointy objects” in  my purse. I have this great little pocketknife, with all kinds of handy gadgets on it. There I was in security, emptying my pockets like a good passenger, and voila! The dreaded “knife”. I wasn’t about to give it to them, those sneaky security guards.  So I went back out to the general area, bought some stamps, begged for an envelope from the Hertz rental desk, and popped that evil thing into the mail box.  I just hope that the workers at Canada Post didn’t hurt themselves on my pointy pocketknife.

Our flights were fairly non-eventful.  We had short wait times, which was quite nice.  Once we hit Edmonton, we were all rather hungry, and barely had time to sit and enjoy our Tim Horton’s soup and sandwiches before they were calling our names to board the flight.  That was alright, as my soup was too hot to eat anyway.  It made for a nice snack on the plane, much more interesting than Peak Freans or Bits and Bites. 

As we flew west, we watched an interested phenomenon.  The sun was setting, and then, the sun was setting again. It was a beautiful thing, that prolonged sunset. Some things you never get to see when you’re on the ground. We finally set foot on western soil around 10:30pm, local time, in the great city of Grande Prairie, AB.  Our friend met us at the airport with my van, and after we dropped her off at her home, we set out for the two hour drive home. 

By the time all was said and done, we arrived home, tired and worn out.  I checked my watch, and was surprised to learn that I had been up for 22 hours. Is that even humanly possible?? No wonder I felt a little dizzy and out of sorts. Getting used to the time change was a little easier on this coast. We got to bed around midnight, and even after sleeping in, woke up at a reasonable time.

Now, there is snow outside my window and Christmas is but days away.  I still have shopping to do! Guess I should get that done. Until our next great adventure, Happy Holidays!

As the rain falls steadily outside, it is quite cozy inside our little house.  Hard to believe that the picture of our cabin, at the top of this post, was taken earlier today.  Around 5pm, I believe!  Now, the rain is persistently pounding on the metal roof.  It’s a pleasant pounding, if pounding could be called pleasant.  Not at all like nails being poured out of a bucket. But enough of that.

Today was warm, 16 degrees warm!  T-shirt weather.  We celebrated by going to the trainbridge and looking for salmon.  We saw several, swimming under the bridge in the shade.  Some were venturing out across the river, lazily waving their tails as they drifted down and across the Miramichi.

We had the opportunity to visit the Salmon Museum, which is normally closed this time of year.  There were some staff there, cleaning up from the weekend shindig that they had.  We got to wander through and see various works of art, as well as artifacts and history about the area.  There were many displays of fishing flies.  In the hall of fame, we got to see a picture and write up of the girls’ great-grandfather, Harold Lyons.

No warm day would be complete without an ice cream cone, so we went to a place commonly referred to as “the canteen” and got some soft serve cones.  Yum!  We drove past the house where Brent grew up, but weren’t able to go in for a tour, as the renter wasn’t home. That was unfortunate.

Ah, and the packing begins.  I’m beginning to wonder if we will get it all in our suitcases.  I’ve already sent a parcel home, and I’m glad that I did!  Tomorrow will be the final test, as we try to stuff EVERYTHING in our bags and drive to Moncton to catch our plane at 4:50 local time.

Tonight we ventured out to say goodbye to our friends. Last night, we went to Auntie Belva’s and Uncle Dunnor’s to have dinner.  The girls got into Auntie’s craft supplies and made some cards.  Then we had a rousing good time, playing “Taboo!”  We got in fairly late; almost midnight.

This is probably the last time I will type to you from the east coast.  It has been a relaxing break; quite enjoyable in fact.  When we get home, we hit the ground running with costumes to make, a photo contest to enter (all 4 of us have photos to burn to cds by the 31st), and missed schoolwork to finally catch up on. But for now, I think I will revel in the fading moments in our cabin by the river, listening to the rain fall gently on the tin roof.

See you on the west coast,

Goodnight.

If you haven’t yet, check out Sarah’s Page.  She is updating it every now and again.  You’ll have to scroll to the bottom to get the new stuff. 

Naomi  has some stuff for her own page too! I should post that soon, I guess. Just waiting for the green light from the author. hee hee.

PS: sorry about the repeat pictures in the previous post.  The gallery is copying stuff that I put in after. Sigh… I can’t seem to figure it out. oh well!

Oh, and one more thing.  The girls and I went to this furniture store/gift shop that opened here in Doaktown about a year ago.  What a fantastic store.  You’da thunk that you were in some trendy downtown Vancouver shop.  We browsed there for awhile. I didn’t take any pics; sorry about that.  They had the greatest stuff though.  It’s a good thing my suitcases are limited!  We picked out some ornaments for the Christmas tree (it’s a tradition) and dreamed a bit, and then left.  Found a chair I loved, but the sticker shock was a bit much. $999??? Where’s the decimal?

On Friday afternoon, we met up with some sweet old ladies at the United Church.  They were finishing a quilt that they have been working on.  Another old lady (as they referred to her, and then laughed, cuz they are all around the same age) had put together a quilt using all scraps of material.  The squares were only 1 1/2 inches, I’m sure.  She had sewn them all together by hand!  These ladies then lay out the backing, fill and quilt top on a frame, and then proceed to sew it together. They charge $2 a square foot, in case you’re wondering.  My sister in law, Belva, arranged for us to go check out the work.  Sarah and I got to sew a little bit on the quilt.

The best part is watching these women work.  Some of them are quick; able to finish a line of quilting in the time it takes me to thread a needle and knot the end!  Their company is so enjoyable.  I urge anybody to spend some time with little old ladies.  They really are a hoot.

Later on, Sarah and I raked up some leaves by the cabin.  Oak leaves are the very best!  What a huge pile we made–it’s awesome.  Naomi and Sarah had some fun playing in them. 

Hey Everyone!

I received a text message yesterday from Naomi’s friend.  It was snowing in Fort St John!  Well, I must say it  is fairly nice here still.  The day after our snow and cold, the sun came out, and we went sailing down the Miramichi.  It was warm, with blue skies and a light breeze at times.

We put our kayaks in the river at the footbridge at Priceville.  The river isn’t very deep this time of year, and most places you can see bottom.  There are some beautiful cabins along the river.  Makes me think of having one myself someday…

It took us around 3 hours to kayak from our drop point to the cabins along the river where we are staying.  A lovely trip was had by all.  Afterwards, we went for dinner at a friend’s house.  Works for me!

 October 23rd

Good morning folks

As I write this, I see that it is only 7 am your time.  It’s almost lunch here. Crazy!

Yesterday was cold and yes, snowing.  In some places the ground was white with snow! We took the opportunity to drive to Fredericton, so we did escape a bit, but it was still cold there. And windy.  The Chocolate Museum in St Steven was a no-go, as they are closed for renovations. HMMM….very sad, I must say.

We had the opportunity to hang out at a science centre whose name fails me at the moment.  It was fun!  The building is actually an old jail built in the 1800’s.  In the basement there is some cells and artifacts.  Did you know there is a science to hanging, based on a person’s weight? So if I was to be hanged, I would have to drop 5′7″ to snap my neck. Gross. Otherwise, the death isn’t quick, and the prisoner would suffer, dying by choking. What a pleasant thought.

We also visited an old church.  What a magnificent structure. A lady was inside, playing the pipe organ. There was a full length marble carving of someone, we couldn’t figure out who. I’m thinking he was a bishop, due to the shape of his hat. The stained glass was beautiful. 

One thing I’ve noticed while travelling around here.  You are never very far from a church with a steeple, and a graveyard.  I’ve lost count of all the graveyards we have passed in the last week.  Even in this little community of Doaktown, which isn’t that big at all, there are at least 2, if not 3 churches. Probably as many cemetaries.  The houses are all so unique. Tall, skinny things with high pitched roofs and a front porch that is either screened in  or has storm windows. 

Greetings, fellow friends and family.

It’s been a quiet few days, thankfully.  We arrived in Doaktown Friday afternoon, after an adventure with Bertha, the dyslexic GPS navigator.  Words to the the wise: never trust a computer when you have a map. 

 The cabins here on the Miramichi are just perfect.  The river flows quietly by out front, and the wood stove is putting away, keeping us warm during the very chilly nights.  There is frost every morning, but no snow yet.  YAY!

We took the weekend off and just hung out, getting some laundry done and visiting with friends and family. Today, we drove around to the various sites near Doaktown: The swinging bridge to Priceville (scarey!) the covered bridge at Nelson’s Hollow, and the old train bridge that crosses the Miramichi.  The tracks are gone now, and it has become a foot bridge.  We saw a sad sight there.  A chipmunk had fallen into the river and was swimming for his life.  I don’t think he made it.  We lost sight of him.  Sigh…

Brent isn’t feeling well, so with hopes that he’ll be on the mend, we are planning on going to Miramichi tomorrow.  Not sure what we’ll find there; a new day is a new adventure!  In the next couple of days we should be headed to the Ganong Chocolate Museum. 

Brent just came in with news of a skunk on the property! Glad I didn’t run into it while walking in the dark to the laundry tonight.  Wouldn’t that be stinky!! 

Best be off to bed.  Till next time,

Carol and the Lyons

October 16

Woke this morning and checked out around 10 am. Found a place to have breakfast with terrible coffee. But the food was reasonable. The girls were itching to go to the cows store, but first, we stopped by the Province House to take some pictures of the statues. From there, we walked around the area and were amazed by the architecture of the buildings and the huge oak, maple and elm trees. Walking under the canopy of such old trees is quite an experience. The canopy they create is something that can’t be captured by a camera.

The Anglican church that stood nearby is made of huge stones. The stained glass windows are protected by a cover of plexiglass, but you can see enough of the windows to be duly impressed by the artwork. I would have loved to see inside, unfortunately the building was locked. The steeple goes up forever. One thing I’ve noticed is that every church has a steeple here. The downtown core of Charlottetown is made up of many old buildings, snuggled close together, some so close that I can’t imagine how they would ever fix or replace the siding between buildings, if necessary.

We decided to check out the inside of the Province House, and discovered that we could tour inside. What a great history lesson. We got to see where the fathers of Confederation met, and where the parliament sits today for meetings. Our guide explained the mace, which is a fancy club with a crown on it. Originally it was used to protect the queen or king, but now it is more of a formality used in parliament meetings. We got to check out the library too. What an amazing building. The architecture is stunning.

After topping up the meter, we walked down the street to Cows, an ice cream shop and fun store that mocks many of the popular shows and items we have today. Various shirts had different titles on them, like “moomoolemon, Hannah Mootanna, Indiana Moo, Steerbucks, and icud.” That was a fun place to visit, and definitely somewhere to go if you want great ice cream.

We drove to Cavendish from there. The provincial park is closed, so we drove right through the toll booth and down the highway that parallels the ocean. We followed the first pullout, and excitedly ran down the red cliffs to the red sand beach below. So many shells, so little pocket space. The Atlantic is an impressive sight. The wet sand made us guess that maybe the tide was on its way out, and that’s a good thing. Otherwise we would have had no opportunity to check out the miles of beach that stretched to the left and right of us.

I can’t begin to explain the amazing feeling that one has when one looks out at the ocean. There’s no land in sight, just rolling waves, and the occasional bird flying overhead. The sand squeaks when walked on. I read in one of the tour guides that it is because of the high silica content.

Wednesday, October 15th

Lobster dinner.

Red dirt. Everywhere. Even red rocks on the beach, and more red dirt.

Impressive churches and old buildings.

The downtown core is amazing - so many old buildings and houses.

I was thrown back in time when I stepped through the door of our motel room tonight. Suddenly I was 10 years old again, on the road with my mom and dad and sister. The ‘70’s décor really takes me back. The tiny roses in diamonds on the wallpaper tops a painted over wainscoting on the bottom. The flooring has been replaced, and the panelling in the bath boasts a creamy white colour. Some things remain: funky brown and orange plates in the cupboards, and a countertop that I haven’t seen since I was young. I can see my mom, hauling in a truckload of food from our Chrysler whatever-it-was, and then throwing together dinner in record time in the little kitchenette. Me on the couch and my sister in the bed, giggling in the darkness as Dad snored in the adjacent bedroom. How did mom sleep through that?

Back to now, I sit at the kitchen table writing this on Word on a laptop, my kids are having a snack, and there is snoring coming from the bedroom, but I’m not there yet.

October 15

Route 2, New Brunswick, heading toward Sackville.

Thank you to Margaret for picking us up at the airport yesterday. Without her, we would have been stuck in the airport for 6 hours! We headed out to Square 1, a shopping mall that is larger than life. The girls headed straight for Build A Bear. After some other shopping and a bite to eat, we headed back to the airport to make sure that we were through security in time. It’s a good thing we got there early, as we ended up having to take the sky train to terminal 3; we were at terminal 1. OOPS.

The last flight from Toronto to Moncton bumped and dropped most of the way there. By that time we just wanted to get off the plane and get some sleep. After the rental van was picked up, we got our room and walked over to Tim Hortons for a bite to eat. Bedtime: 1am local time.

Today we found a great local restaurant, called “Jean’s Restaurant” in Moncton. Lucky for us they served breakfast all day! Ever had fried bologna for breakfast? We found our way with the help of some maps to the Confederation Bridge. This unassuming little road meanders through the countryside, and then there you are: this big, long, impressive bridge. A visit to the Information Center is essential, and located right after you exit the bridge.

PS: The fudge at the tourist centre is quite tasty!