Saturday, April 12th, Arrival in Canada

So here I am, sitting in my hotel room in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. I've just finished eating my delicious Canadian version of the Chocolate X-treme blizzard from DQ. My hypothesis was correct; the are just as good here. :)

Reflecting on my day so far seems like something that happened so long ago. To recount my adventure so far I must start with Friday.
I didn't leave school until after 5:30pm. Trying to finish grading a million lab journals and enter grades plus planning for a two week absence was a feat I didn't think I would be able to do. My students are in capable hands with the substitute I have chosen. My fear is leaving for two entire weeks. I've never had to plan detailed lessons for two weeks.

But I digress...
Friday when I arrived home I knew I would not be getting to bed early. I had already started packing. I had made notes for myself--things to find, things to pack, flight information to find, etc... Mom graciously brought over take out for Frank and I. When she arrived, I had been home only about 30 or so minutes. She knew how hectic everything was and coaxed me to keep packing. I scarfed down the yummy Chinese food and disappeared.
I checked in for my flight early and decided that I was taking two checked bags (for bringing more back). Now I just had to pack everything into those two bags. In total, I would have four bags--two large checked bags and two carry-ons; my camera in one, and laptop in the other. Earthwatch said to pack only what you could carry; I took them literally.

Knowing that my flight was at 6:30am, I reserved a taxi for 4:30am pick up. I was able to finish my preparations and get to be before 10pm.
Rising with the alarm clock, my day began at 3:15am. I treated it as a normal day and got into my normal daily schedule--get dressed, feed the dogs, eat breakfast, read the paper. Doh! The paper wasn't delivered yet. It was early.
Frank was up early so we could spend a little time together--he even made biscuits. Yummy.
The taxi was prompt and I was quickly in the car, headed for the airport. As expected at 4:30am, there was no traffic to worry about and we easily made it to the airport without hassle.
Once at the airport it was a breeze. I only had to sit and wait for my flight. Finally something where I didn't have to plan or pack.
I tried to get some sleep on the flight to New Jersey but only managed a few brief lapses into the unconscious. Next on the agenda was to find the connecting flight to Halifax.
Naturally my gate was just about the farthest gate they could have chosen. I had an hour layover so I was not worried about missing the flight. I lugged my two carry-ons through the extra hot airport and sat at my gate for the 11:45am flight.
I was one of the last to board the express jet to Halifax because I was the first seat. It was just me up there--a seat for one! Woo hoo!
So, there we sat. And sat. And continued to sit. Because I was literally next to the entrance, I had a front row seat to the cockpit. I overheard the pilot speaking with the lone flight attendant. Apparently the weather in Halifax was causing lots of concern. We would have to add lots of fuel and in turn would need to lose 'weight' from the plane. Volunteers were offered vouchers to take Sunday morning's flight. Since I already had hotel reservations I did not want to be charged so I did not take the voucher. In hind sight, that was stupid of me. $500 voucher, hotel, dinner, and breakfast would have easily won. I was afraid that straying from the plan would cause an unseen crisis.
Over an hour later, we finally were given clearance for take off. It was an uneventful flight and the weather had mostly cleared by the time we arrived.
The weather was drizzly and very overcast.
My taxi driver was a character! He impressed me with his knowledge of black and white movie trivia as he drove me to my hotel.
The scenery was beautiful as we drove. The trees, rocks, and overall groundcover were exactly what I expected. It is so different from home. I wanted to take pictures but the rain and moving car hindered that idea. My taxi driver was also a tour guide. He drove me around to a few sights. I didn't realize that the fare was a flat fee so as he drove me around I wondered just how high my total fare would climb.
I'm staying the night at the Coutyard. I have a nice room that is overlooking the harbor. If the weather were nicer it would be beautiful. If I were capable of capturing a picture in this weather--that would be a miracle.

I walked around the area, looking for a souvenir shop. Apparently this place is a ghost town until later in the spring. Almost every place I saw was closed--at 5pm on a Saturday. I did find a rum runner store so I bought a rum cake.
My long term goal was to walk to the Dairy Queen I had seen as we drove to the hotel. It was about a mile or so from the hotel. As soon as I saw it, I started laying a bread crumb trail so I could retrace my steps back there. My main fear was money--I had $20 US cash and two credit cards (AmEx and MC). Since most stores only accept Canadian dollars, I was hoping that they accepted plastic. From the beginning of my blog you can see that they did take my plastic.

Now I'm free until 11am tomorrow when I catch the airport shuttle to meet up with my Earthwatch crew. We're headed out to the actual sight tomorrow afternoon. All I am sure of is that we're staying in a hamlet--something smaller than a town. :) more updates on that when I get there.
I'm planning to get in a run tomorrow since I have time. I have my small camera so I'm planning to take it with me. Too bad I couldn't find a magnet or other souvenir. My pictures will have to suffice.
Until tomorrow.