Sunday, July 08, 2007

Well, I made it back to Sydney! It was another VERY long trip, but I have to admit it was much better than my first trip over here. I’m not exactly happy to be back, but I am relieved that the traveling is over. Here’s what I’ve been up to these past few weeks! … (I am writing this on Sunday after having traveled for 24 hours and not having slept yet… so I’m sorry if some of it doesn’t make sense! My writing may not be at its best… he he he)

MY SUMMER TRIP HOME

I arrived in Toronto (after almost missing my connection in LA) on Saturday (June 23rd) in the late evening. Brent was at the airport waiting for me and I was SO excited to see him!! I was really tired, but we stopped by Dad and Norma’s on the way home to say hi! Dad was looking pretty good for just having had his hip replaced. We got back to Mom’s house in time for a quick chat and visit with Nana and Nono before bed. I didn’t think I’d have any trouble sleeping but I had heard the jetlag was bad coming east, so I got a sleeping pill from Mom just incase. I guess they were right because even with the sleeping pill, I was only able to sleep for about 4 hours.

I finally got out of bed at around 10 (after lying awake for a LONG time) and Brent and I went up to Dad’s house for some breakfast. It was SO nice to have a real breakfast! I don’t think poached eggs have ever tasted so good!
In the early afternoon, Brent and I headed up to Mom’s cottage. We had a nice couple of days visiting with Mom, Nana and Nono. Mom made us all a couple of dinners which were really amazing. On Monday, Brent’s parents, Harry and Pauline, came down to visit us from Sudbury. We had a nice lunch that Mom made for us and then went out for a little sail. The rest of the time we spent windsurfing, kayaking, having outdoor showers, and playing checkers. He he he. My time there is a bit of a blur (I think cause I was so jetlagged). On Tuesday Brent and I headed up towards North Bay and Mom took Nana and Nono back to Toronto so that they could catch a bus back to Windsor (in time for Nono to have his afternoon swim!). Brent and I stopped in Powassan on our way up north so that we could visit his grandparents (who are REALLY cute) and grab some groceries.Brent’s family cottage is on a big Island near North Bay and takes about 15 minutes to get to by boat after leaving the mainland. It was beautiful and we ended up having the whole island to ourselves for the 2.5 days that we were there. We went swimming and fishing (Brent caught a BIG fish and I caught none :( …) and played LOTS of texas horseshoe. We picked blueberries and walked across the island to a nice little swimming hole which was just perfect. We made 2 really nice dinners, drank wine and sat out on the dock after dark looking at all the stars. The weather was nice apart from a few sunshowers and we had a great and relaxing time there! On Thursday we left around 2pm and headed to Montreal. The drive didn’t feel that long even though it took us over 6 hours… (After my 24 hour trips to Sydney and back alone, having someone to travel with makes any trip feel nice and short!)… We didn’t get into Montreal till past 8pm after I managed to get us lost on the island!! I don’t know how it happened since I’ve driven there tons of times without ANY problems. I must have been tired! But, Brent was great and he got us back on track and to our hotel near Jamie’s place in no time J.) It was pretty late when we got settled and showered and everything, so we decided to just go grab some pub food at Pistol (closeby) and have an early night. As we were finishing dinner, Jamie, Max and a few of their friends walked into the bar (by total coincidence), so we ended up staying a lot later and had some drinks with them.
On Friday, Brent and I went to Boccacino’s for brunch and then headed to McGill Campus and St. Catherine’s to wander around. I took Brent to my favourite store (Simons) and he got a really nice jacket and a belt and bought me a necklace! :)

In the evening, Brent and I had dinner at my favourite restaurant, L’Academie (bring your own wine), with Robert Toupin (my old swim coach from years ago!). He lives in Ottawa now, but drove up to Montreal for the evening to visit with us.
After dinner, we headed over to Molson Stadium to see my friend, Tristan, play football (he plays for Saskatchewan) against the Alouettes. Robert came with us too, but left early because it started raining about halfway through the game. We got pretty wet from all the rain, but it was worth it cause the Roughriders won and Tristan played well and even got an interception!
After the game, Tristan (and his girlfriend, Lisa), Brent and I headed over to St. Denis to see Jamie’s band play! It was a nice venue, but pretty big for the number of people who were there. Apparently the band who had organized the show didn’t really know what they were doing… but I thought it was great cause we got front row seats and a perfect view! I’ve decided that if (or when?) they make it big, I’m going to quit med school and become their manager. He he he. Saturday was spent almost entirely in the car. Uncle Rob was up at Mom’s cottage for the long weekend, so we decided to go back there to have dinner with him, Mom and Richard (also so Jamie could talk to Rob about some music stuff). On our way up there, we stopped in Innisfil to see Betty and Floyd and the new puppies!They were so cute. We also got to see Lokey (the giant 190lb dog that I love!). Betty and Floyd are doing well and it was great to see them!

On Sunday we were finally back in Toronto and Norma made a really nice brunch for a late Father’s Day party. It was really nice and Dad seemed really happy :). In the afternoon we all headed out to aunt Julie’s house for the big Canada Day party. I hadn’t been to that party in many years and it was much bigger than what I remembered. Julie was a great host and it was so good to see everyone. Granny and Grandpa are still going strong and are turning 88 and 90 this September. That night, Brent and I walked down to the beach to watch the Canada Day fireworks at Ashbridges Bay.

On Monday, Brent ran some errands with me and helped me pick out a few things that I could wear at the hospital. In the evening, Dad and Norma took us all out to a really nice dinner at a little restaurant along Queen St. that I hadn’t been to before. It was so nice!

Brent and I also managed to get up to Scallywags that night for a quick visit with Kirsty, Amelia, Teolis, Dan and Stefan. Dan was in town (from medical school in the UK) because he is doing his elective in cardiac surgery at St. Mike’s hospital downtown Toronto. Tuesday was our big trip to Canada’s Wonderland. Eleven of us went (Jamie, Jules, George, Brent, Chris Radford, Jessica, McCoy, Jon Berrie, Sarah Allen, Jeremy and me).It was a lot of fun and a really good way to catch up with everyone. Jamie had to leave early to catch a train back to Montreal at 6pm, but the rest of us stayed till about 7pm and got in a LOT of rides! Wednesday was another busy day. Brent and I got up early and headed out to Etobicoke so I could meet his little cousin Adelaide (and do my pediatric project) on her. She’s a great little girl and the whole thing only took about 30 minutes (since Brent and his cousin had done a lot of it for me!) :).
On our way back into the city, we had a quick visit with Erin (Brent’s sister) and Chris (her boyfriend). Erin made me a really funny picture collage of Brent making weird faces… he he he. It was pretty big, but I managed to fit it in my suitcase to bring back here with me :) !
After the visit, we made a quick stop at Richard’s office to pick up my newly fixed ring (YAY!) and then headed up to the Granite Club where we had a badminton game planned with Juliann and Georgia.It was a really fun time, but despite our best efforts, we couldn’t quite beat them! (BTW girlies—we want a rematch in December.) After the game, Brent and I headed home and got ready for the surprise that Brent had planned for me! We got dressed up and went for Sushi at a place along Queen called Japango (where we had our first date).Then we headed downtown and got to go see the musical called “We Will Rock You” done by Queen. It was REALLY great and I was so so excited to see it! When we got home, we walked over to Quigley’s and had some nachos and beers which was also really fun! :) What a great day!

Thursday morning Brent and I got up early to go to our dentist appointments. After that, we got out Brent’s paddleboards, walked down to the beach barefoot, and then paddled over to Leuty station for a visit. Fitz met us there (which was nice), so we got in a little visit with him.
In the afternoon we headed downtown and had a late lunch at Brownstones on Yonge St. Rob was coming over for dinner, so we didn’t want to eat too much. Mom and Richard made a really nice dinner for all of us that night and we had another nice visit with Rob and Cindy.

Thursday night and Friday morning I spent packing except for a short visit up to Dad’s place to say bye. I really hate saying goodbye when it is going to be so long till the next visit. It doesn’t seem to be getting any easier yet. :(

Brent drove me to the airport and waited with me till I had to go through customs… 24 hours later, I was back in Sydney. It was 7 degrees Celsius when I landed here on Sunday morning. I know it isn’t that bad, but I still miss the summertime at home.