Friday, October 28, 2005
Visit from the Big Sister
FRIDAY, October 28, 2005
Trish flew in to the Halifax airport. I drove over to pick her up, and then we drove an hour and a bit to our cousins' bed and breakfast. I had no idea I had family in the province, but Robert Lange is actually a first cousin of my dad! And the family resemblence is definitely present!
Not great pictures here; above is me with Dorothy and Robert Lange, and to the right is my Dad. Not sure if it comes across, but they have the same nose, same Lange forehead, and apparently same joint problems! Robert's already had some replacements and Dad is waiting for his.
SATURDAY, October 29, 2005
We had a lovely breakfast and lovely stay at their beautiful place. They of course didn't charge us for it, being family and all, but we tricked them and left the money on the bedside table. If you are in the area, I highly recommend staying there: reasonable rates, beautiful location, and of course, friendly people! http://www.islandtreefarmbb.ns.ca/
We drove back to Sydney, taking a longer way around and looking for some waves to surf, but it was flat as a pancake. Once we got home, we went and registered for the race the next day... and I think we actually took it easy that night.
SUNDAY, October 30, 2005
Well, we struggled awake, and we getting ready when I realized there was a time change, and we had another hour to spare! Oh well, gave us lots of time to get ready. The race was ok, but I hadn't trained enough and struggled a bit at the end. Trish wouldn't leave me as she said she had come to run with me, so she stuck by my side as I lumbered along. We finished in just under 2 hours... or just over. Can't remember which. I do think we did just make it in a negative split, which was my only stated goal, although I had secretly been hoping to beat my only other 1/2 marathon time of 1:53:00, but no such luck. But we finished!
After that I was cruel and dragged Trish out, although we probably just should have rested. But we had to see some of Cape Breton! So we headed out to the Cabot Trail. It started to get dark just as we got there, so we didn't appreaciate the Ingonish side much, but we got a few nice pictures. The leaves we still clinging, so she got to appreciate some of the splendour of the Cabot Trail. We camped in the car that night and continued our trip the next day.
MONDAY, October 31, 2005
We finished going around the Cabot Trail, taking a side tour to Meat Cove and a stop off at the wool store in Baddeck... bad move for our bank books, good move for the store!
Looking at our watches, we realized we were running late and FLEW back to Sydney, arriving for our spa appointment only a few minutes late; pedicure and massage as a post-run / early birthday present for both of us. VERY enjoyable!
It being the 31st, we then went to a part, Trish dressed as a scarecrow, me as Trinity; I was flabbergasted at the number of people that hadn't watched the Matrix yet! Couldn't believe it. My favourite part of my costume was the cap guns I'd bought specifically for the costume; I'm starting to amass quite the tickle trunk.
TUESDAY, November 1, 2005
Trish had to catch a plane (from Sydney this time) in the afternoon, and I had a meeting right after that, so we slept in, then Trish bought me my birthday present - stuff for a pet fish. Unfortunately there were no fish at the time, so she just got me the stuff and I picked up the fish a bit later. This is a picture of my Japenese fighting fish, also known as Beta fish. I named him Alpha (hee hee).
The only other thing of note was Trish volunteered to be my first ever passenger on my motorbike, and we took a quick rip around. No mishaps, and I think I got Trish hooked on the wonderful freedom of driving a bike! All in all, a pretty great visit.
