Our day at Acadia started out a bit frustrating. We thought that someone from security was going to meet us to show us where to park, but they apparently didn’t know about it. Everything worked out in the end and we got settled in. Several students came to see us, as well as a reporter from the local paper. One student who came to see us was so excited to tell us that she is a survivor – at 19!!! Her story was incredible, and she was so nonchalant about it. We were so impressed by her! Later as we were pulling out of town we passed her downtown with a friend and she jumped up and down waving to us! It was awesome.
Our lunch stop that day was fabulous too. We found a neat little vegetarian restaurant where we got grilled sandwiches and vegan desserts. One of my co-workers is a vegetarian so she is always excited to find restaurants that offer her a broad selection. I, of course, love any kind of food, and absolutely love eating healthy and flavorful meals, so veggie restaurants tend to be a good option for me too. We can’t wait to go back there in the spring!
I was a bit anxious about our trip to Truro. I wasn’t sure if the turnout would be great at NSAC, and was trying to think of somewhere where we could go for lunch that would live up to the meal we had had the day before. In the end we settled on a little bistro downtown. It was a bit of a gamble as I’ve only been there once, but everything turned out fabulous in the end. We had a great location to park at the AC and the students were really excited to come see us! We had our second best turnout from all of the university stops!
That night we headed up to Amherst to stay the night at the Wandlyn Inn. The girl at the front desk was one of the friendliest front-line service workers I have ever encountered. She offered to help carry our bags, and was generally genuinely very concerned that we were happy and comfortable. After dinner Cap and I went to the gym for a bit of exercise. IT was bigger than most hotel gyms, but was kind of hilarious thanks to its overtly 1980s décor.
The trip over to PEI was amazing. The sun was shining and our driver invited us to come to the front of the bus (our seats are at the very back) to take in the view driving over the Confederation Bridge. There are concrete barriers on the sides so if you go across in a regular car you really can’t see much. In a 3.8m high bus you can see all over though! It was so breathtaking – the water was blue, but was dotted with ice and snow floating. It was definitely an awesome experience.
We had a day off in PEI, so the night before the girls and I went out to a local pub for dinner and drinks. It was nice to just relax and enjoy ourselves and talk about something other than work. We spent the rest of the night just talking and laughing. The next day (our day off) Cam and I walked all over Charlottetown exploring the local shops and restaurants and snapping photos. We realized we were on our feet for almost 8 hours! We had a quiet dinner and an early night because we had to work early the next morning, AND we were losing an hour due to daylight savings.
Our experience at UPEI was pretty amazing. Two survivors came out to see us an share their amazing stories. One shared that ten days after her surgery (while she was still undergoing treatment) she returned to her job as a fitness instructor! We all agreed that we no longer had a good excuse for skipping out on the gym or exercise! Her energy was contagious! She encouraged us to think about living to die, instead of dying to live. She said that even when things were she made the most of each day instead of suffering. It reminded me of the Trooper song that says: “We’re here for a good time, not a long time, so have a good time – the sun can’t shine everyday...” --- “Every year has its share of tears, every now and then it’s got to rain…”. She was a great example of that philosophy!
Later on in the day we met a women who is currently undergoing treatment. She came along with her family who were all obviously a big support for her. They seemed genuinely happy to be able to talk openly and ask candid questions. It felt good to be able to facilitate that discussion, and also to be able to give them some helpful information about some of the services that are available.
Now we're in Miramichi and just about to go out exploring. We're only here for one night, but later on during the tour we will be here for several days so it will be good to get the lay of the land now.
Off I go...!
Dee, loving the blog, keep the updates coming!
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