First day out on the road!

So I said in my last post that I was going to try to stay up late and pull a marathon night to get everything on my to-do list accomplished. I can't remember the last time I did that, and clearly I wasn't factoring my 'old age' into the equation. I got a bit done around my place, then sat down at 10:00pm to watch Modern Family. I figured I deserved a half hour break and a good laugh. Next thing I knew I was waking up and it was after 11:00pm. I was so sleepy that I decided to just give up and go to bed. I guess my days of "all-nighters" are long gone. I set my alarm to "super early" (aka 6:00am) and settled in for the night. Because I was so anxious that I wouldn't get everything done in time I ended up waking up every hour or so. Finally at about 5:30am I decided to just get up and get on with my day. I ended up getting everything done and dusted, and was actually able to head out early to meet the bus. To be honest, I am surprised I'm still awake now!

At 10:15 I trotted out my door into the freezing rain and down Tobin St. with my two giant blue suitcases in tow; computer on my back, and purse on my side. I made my way through the puddles and the muck to our meeting place only to find I was the first to arrive. Thank goodness I had my long winter coat on because the weather was atrocious. Eventually my co-worker arrived, and shortly after we saw our ride looming in the distance. After a quick stop at the office to pick up a final package, and another stop to get our other co-worker, we were heading towards Pictou county.

We nursed our morning Tim's while chatting about this, that, and the other thing before deciding to break into my new travel Scrabble set. Luckily there is a table at the back of the bus, so playing games isn't too hard. We're trying to keep variety on our bus rides so that we don't get bored with the travel. So far, so good!

As soon as we arrived at the NSCC Pictou campus we headed inside to the washrooms before we set up the bus. Within that five minutes people were already anxious to see what was on board! We ended up having our busiest day yet! The students and staff were flocking to us in hoards! The Principal of the college was extremely supportive of our bus and had apparently sent an e-mail out about it, and personally went around to individual classes encouraging students to come visit. The people we spoke with ranged in age, and in experience with the issue. Some were survivors, others were relatives of survivors, and then there were many who really knew very little about the disease and early detection. We were particularly impressed with a very attentive group of men!

At the end of the afternoon we packed up the bus and headed off to our hotel. After a brief break to settle in and change out of our work clothes we met and headed out to dinner. The hotel staff recommended a local favorite. The food was good, and the place was filled with old pictures from the local industry, which I found interesting. We couldn't find out bus driver when we left the hotel so we decided to call a cab. After dinner we called the same company, and got the same driver! Welcome to small-town Nova Scotia! Once back at the hotel we had a bit of TV-time, then Cap and I hit the gym. We both really want to make an effort to stay active, since our job is somewhat sedentary, and we are no longer walking to work. The hotel also had a nice pool with a water slide and a hot tub. It was a great way to end the day.

Now I am showered and am settled into bed for the first of 165 nights on the road. The bed is deliciously comfortable, the sheets soft, and the pillows encapsulating! Time to put the computer away and get some rest because tomorrow will come soon enough. We're off to St.FX in the morning, and Port Hawksbury in the afternoon.