For those who don’t know, from the 5th thru the 12th of April, I was up in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. 12 hours each direction of flying, and let me tell you that’s a story that’ll be covered later on in this post, but never the less… you really get an appreciation for the length of the travel when you hear it in terms of hours in flight. My trip over there was quite relaxing, on my hop from Portland, Oregon to Toronto, Ontario, Canada the plane was even only about half full! So we had plenty of room to stretch out and actually enjoy the flight instead of being all cramped up. Quite enjoyable, and make the trip seem less painful as I plugged in my laptop and enjoyed a movie and working on a couple projects.

Then I landed in Halifax at about 10:30pm local time. As per norm for me travelling, I hadn’t slept the night before, so I had been up for going on 40 hours at this point. But I was alive, I was enjoying it, and I was happy to be there. Erin, whom I had gone on the visit to see, was there to meet me, and we used a transport service called Driver Daves, which if you’re ever in the Halifax area and need a ride to and from the Airport? I highly recommend! We gathered my luggage and set off for her place. Getting back to her place about 11:30pm, my travel had finally come to an end. It was so nice to just be able to stretch… ugh, finally.

Over the next couple days, we explored Halifax, and I got to witness first hand this city I had been hearing about for over 2 years. My only regret? That I didn’t stop to take more photos. But I’ll admit I was completely unprepared for the wind portion of the weather there and as such it was rather nippy you might say. It still surprises me as I think back on it how much the area reminded me of a smaller version of the Seattle area I grew up in. Nice people, culturally diverse, wonderful food, wonderful atmosphere, just all around good times.

Over the weekend, we took the 4 hour drive north to Prince Edward Island (PEI) and visited her parents for a night. PEI has a remarkably small population for a province, only something like 130,000 people live there, and as you’re driving from the Confederation Bridge across to Charlottetown you really get an appreciation for all the farm land that exists out there. Then we arrived… and it was almost immediately obvious I was in for a bit of a surprise. (Granted, I knew it was happening, but I had no idea to the extent) I was flat out shocked at the sheer amount of amazing food they decided to make. I could instantly tell it was something her parents enjoyed doing, and I felt honoured and humbled by the entire experience. Not exactly something that happens a lot to me.

It was on the way back from PEI that I had what I’d consider a moment of clarity. Ever have one? Where everything in your world just feels right, everything is going according how you’d think, and you just know? Yea, had one of those…

Needless to say, the end result is, Erin and I are now engaged.

I’m working on getting everything in order to move up (or down as the case may be) to Halifax. I’m working on getting everything locally in order, and I’m going to be leaving Northern Idaho. It’s a big move, and it won’t be without bumps, but it’s something that feels right, and it’s something that I want to do. So here’s to it.

And you know? There was more I was going to say, but that feels like a pretty good place to close this post, and I’ll save that for another one. So in closing, here’s a couple pictures that I took while on the trip. Enjoy.

Идея за подарък

I’ve spent some time doing some light reading up on the area, and it’s remarkably similar to the area I grew up in for being over 3200 miles away (~5400 km, for those in metric! Oh yea, learning that conversion in my head quickly too). Surrounded by water, city on a hill, only real thing missing is the amazing mountain shots. But by the same token, Halifax has a music and food culture that I’d just about kill for. You don’t realize how little you have around you, until you really take a look at somewhere else. Maybe it’s the fact that Idaho has almost nothing in comparison, maybe it’s that I just need a change of pace, or maybe there’s something I haven’t quite said here yet that is really driving me. Odds are really good it’s the last one, but that’s a story for another post now isn’t it?

At any rate, April 5th I leave for Halifax, and return about a week later. After that? Who knows now, but things are looking good, and I’m super excited for this trip. March is going to be a very long month indeed, any suggestions for speeding it up a bit?

In closing, I want to point out to everyone something that was linked by my friend Andy on his Facebook account. In this article by the Huffington Post there is an amazing video showcasing some of the beautiful things that make the Seattle area so incredibly special. I urge everyone to go check it out, and see just how wonderful an area most of the people who know me grew up in. I was so taken back by the music in the piece, that I went in search of a full copy, and Erin actually found the link I’m about to share. Enjoy some just damn good music.

Mat Kearney — City of Black and White

Til later.

For those who haven’t heard, I’m in the process of moving across the continent, to Canada, to start my life a new. It came out of nowhere, and it’s an opportunity I’d be a complete fool to pass up. I won’t make that mistake again, I’m grabbing life by the horns, and doing this. Tickets are purchased, I’ll be flying out for a visit in the beginning of April, and then attempting to make the move sometime there after. I can honestly say I’ve never wanted anything more in my life. It excites me, fills me with energy, and gives me reason to fight thru each day with a smile on my face and a passion in my soul.

While I’m there, you can be sure this site will be filled with photos, experiences, and memories I wish to share with the public. My Canon PowerShot SX20 IS will be taking the trek with me, and I’ll be snapping many many pictures of the new area. It’ll be my first venture living outside the northwest, and I look forward to the different experiences it will bring me. Moreover, since I’ll be moving out of the country, it’ll be even more entertaining, let me tell you what… the process of immigrating is not one I wish on anyone. E-gads.

I guess I’m writing this to catch up, to say yes, I’m alive and well now. I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about this, thinking about what might happen, and I’m ready for it. There’s more to tell, so much more, but for now I’d like to close this one, and save those stories for another day.

My inner muse has returned in part, so you should be seeing more frequent updates from me on this site. I hope everyone is well, and if you want to, drop a line in the comments! I’d love to hear from ya’ll.

Til then.

One thing I will say, I missed my friends, both old and new. You don’t really realize what you’ve got staring at you in the face until you’re not able to contact it for a while. Granted, I was there for a very specific purpose, and I wouldn’t have traded it at all. But it does put one into kinda a reflective mode. Anyway!

Coming sooner than later (ie: very likely this week):

1. Updated About Me Page: I’m not pleased at all with the great american novel that is my about me page, so yea, major revamp time.
2. Couple Posts of Ideas: I’ve been organizing my life a bit of late, and there’s a couple ideas I’ve come up with that would assist me with using the tools I already use better.
3. Integration: If you couldn’t tell, I’m not only here, but I’m on Twitter and on Facebook as well. They’re my choice for ‘asides’ posts if you will. What do I want to do with that? Get a little more bi-directional posting, so that everywhere can be updated every time.

Anyway, yea, that’s me. And look, it didn’t take a year for the next update! *cough* More later.

P.S.: Broiler + Sandwich stuffs + 5 minutes == Charcoal.